Laila Ali welcomes tribute to dad at Humanitarian Awards
LOS ANGELES — Laila Ali returns as host of the Sports Humanitarian of the Year awards, which plan to honour her father Muhammad Ali in a tribute she eagerly awaits.
The show on Tuesday at the Conga Room in downtown Los Angeles features awards for individual, team, league and corporate humanitarians.
Ali’s father died in June at age 74 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. The worldwide tributes were appreciated by his daughter, a former pro boxer herself who retired undefeated.
“I’m happy that my father is no longer suffering. Moving on is sort of a celebration to me. I hope people never forget,” she said recently. “There’s a new generation of kids that maybe haven’t heard. I invite people to learn about him and be inspired by him.”