I told Champ Lonnie was only marrying him for his money... he just said Shhh
neighbour of the family and was working as the fighter’s nurse when their romance began.
Sources close to her say she is simply fiercely protective of her husband and has been desperate to ensure he has enough money to live out his last years as comfortably as possible.
She famously saved him from financial ruin and helped him make £30million by selling the worldwide rights to his image in 2006. Her dedication has not wavered over 30 yeas of marriage despite his declining health.
Ali’s weakness for women was well documented and left a trail of destruction in his wake. He married first wife Sonji Roi a month after meeting her in 1964. But just over a year later they split because she didn’t want to conform to strict Muslim customs.
Towards the end of their relationship he met 15-year-old Belinda Boyd in a
Fight promoter said: “Not just boxing but the world has lost an iconic figure. Not only that, he crossed over to the general mainstream public.
“He became bigger than sport and was probably one of the most recognisable people on the planet.
“What he did for his own race – being a black American – he stood up against the war in Vietnam to the detriment of his career and his life. He probably paved the way for Obama to be president of America.”
Los Angeles café. They married in 1967 when she was 17. She converted to Islam at his request and changed her name to Khalilah. They had daughters Maryum, Jamilah and Rasheda and son Junior. Despite her devotion, he was unable to British Olympic boxing gold medallist, said: “Prayers go out to boxing’s greatest of all time and an inspiration to me and so many
people.”
stay faithful. An affair with a woman reportedly named Patricia Harvell produced his first acknowledged love child, a daughter named Miya, in 1972.
His daughter Khalilah was born in 1974 after a fling with teenager Wanda Bolton. Ali’s affair with model Veronica Porsche brought his marriage to Belinda to an acrimonious end. They divorced in 1975.
Veronica claimed they wed before the split was finalised and they already had one daughter, Hana, by the time they tied the knot in 1977. She was also pregnant with their second child Laila.
The couple split after childhood neighbour Lonnie became his nurse in California. He married for the final time in 1986 and adopted a five-month-old boy called Asaad Amin. Read more in our 12-page pullout on Ali Brazilian footballing legend said: “The sporting universe has suffered a big loss. Muhammad Ali was my friend, my idol.”