Muhammad Ali is known for his iconic boxing status as well as a family
consisting of nine children. But it turns out the legendary athlete is
the father of a secret love child he had from a 20-year affair.
In an interview with theDaily Mirror, Kiiursti Mensah Ali claims a
1988 paternity test proves she is Ali's child and that he agreed to
have his name on her birth certificate. Ali not only acknowledged
Kiiursti on the birth certificate, the sports legend also made an
effort to be a presence in her life by visiting Kiiursti and her mom
Barbara Mensah several times when she was little.
"Muhammad Ali is my dad - but everything changed the moment he married
her," Kiiursti said about how her father's marriage to his fourth wife
Lonnie Williams in 1986 changed their relationship. For Kiiursti, it
all comes down to Lonnie, who married Ali three years after he was
diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"He stopped coming to see me, she added. "As the years went by he got
sicker and sicker. She stopped him having a relationship with me. It's
been devastating.
According to Kiiursti, Ali met Mensah in 1967 when she was a
17-year-old high school student in Houston, Texas. Unlike the other
girls who were obviously attracted to him, Mensah's nonchalant
attitude toward Ali struck a nerve with the athlete, who Kiiursti
said, "made sure my mom was given his number."
Although he was still married to his first wife Belinda Boyd, that
didn't prevent Ali from carrying on an affair with Mensah, who went to
all his big fights including the "Thrilla in Manila" against Joe
Frazier, the "Rumble in the Jungle" versus George Foreman and a title
defense in Puerto Rico in 1976.
"I think my mum still loves him to this day. She was the only one who
stood up to him," Kiiursti shared with the Mirror. "He was the love of
her life. At the time, the press knew they were together a lot, but
they just didn't know how close they had become. They never really
stopped seeing each other ever, until Lonnie came along and made him
cut ties with us."
Despite Lonnie's efforts, Kiiursti ended up becoming close to some of
Ali's other children. In addition to having a close relationship with
Muhammad Ali Jr., Kiiursti has met the elder Ali's first child Maryum
as well as reached out to her sister Hannah and Ali's twins Jamillah
and Rasheda. Ali's daughter Laila has met Kiiursti numerous times,
Kiiursti revealed as she opened up about the reaction she's received
from the rest of Ali's kids.
"The rest said I just want money. I said, 'Seriously, you just don't
know what's going on, do you?' I just left it alone. Laila and I
actually used to see each other when we were younger, I've also been
to a couple of her fights," said Kiiursti.
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