BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
Radio One Raleigh is proud to announce that Laila Ali will be the keynote speaker for Women’s Empowerment 2010. This year’s event is scheduled for March 20th at the RBC Center. Keep it it locked for more information on tickets and our performance line up.
About Laila Ali
Laila Ali, an athlete and champion of health and fitness, is a perfect role model for today’s healthy, on-the-go woman. The youngest daughter of Veronica Porsche Anderson, and of the legendary Muhammad Ali, she is a strong, intelligent, woman, daughter, and wife. Equally as important, Laila possesses a unique blend of personality and celebrity status, yet retains an innate sense of being “every woman”, thus allowing her to connect strongly with the consumer.
While Laila has undoubtedly been the major draw in women’s boxing for years, she recently took on a new challenge, strutting her stuff in front of nearly 40 million people every week on ABC’s hit show, Dancing With The Stars. A glamorous and elegant Laila surprised everyone and charged into the finals. Not only did her grace and tremendous athletic ability translate well to the dance floor, but it gave the public a wonderful opportunity to view a side of Laila to which they had never been exposed. Viewers were able to get a sense of her humor, her feminism, her genuineness, and her beauty. Laila got dressed up one more time this summer, as she married former NFL star, Curtis Conway, on July 22nd.
Laila’s tremendous global popularity on the dance-floor and in the ring has led to numerous marketing opportunities for her. Most recently, she was featured in adidas’ “Impossible is Nothing” campaign alongside soccer phenom David Beckham, and in Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion’s “Skin is Amazing” campaign with the likes of Hillary Duff, Minnie Driver and Dave Navarro. Laila recently became the second person to ever appear in the famous MILK Mustache campaign three times. The MILK campaign featured a “high fashion” image for the masses, and a “sporty” photo for schools nationwide.
Fitness is another important component of Laila’s life. She recently completed a cardio workout DVD with boxing legend, Sugar Ray Leonard (available at WalMart, Kmart/Sears, Best Buy, etc.). Her attention to an overall healthy lifestyle has rendered her an expert in this field. Laila has appeared in numerous magazines, including TV Guide, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, People, Ebony, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Essence, JET, ESPN the Magazine, and Time. Laila can soon be seen as host of “The N’s Student Body,” a show that follows a group of teens as they attempt to change their own lives-from diet and exercise to volunteering and academics – as well as the lives of their friends and families.
In January 2008, Laila joined Hulk Hogan as co-host of NBC’s “American Gladiators.” The premiere of the show was the highest-rated new series premiere on any network among adults 18-49 for the 2007-08 season. Laila has also been named the new Health and Lifestyle Correspondent for CBS’ The Early Show.
Laila also authored a motivational book titled Reach! She wrote the book in an effort to help young women who may need to be inspired in life. Laila uses her own experiences and challenges as an example for her readers.
Laila, a multi-talented entrepreneur, owned and operated a nail salon in California before entering the boxing profession. She had earned her degree in Business Management at Santa Monica College, but after watching women’s boxing on television for the first time, she instantly wanted to step in the ring. About a year later, she sold her business and started training to become a professional boxer.
Laila made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999, and in a sign of things to come, she knocked out her opponent, April Fowler, 31 seconds into the 1st round. Laila is the current undefeated Super Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world with a 24-0 record, with 21 knock-outs. In her last fight, on February 3rd, 2007, Laila knocked out her opponent, Gwendolyn O’Neal, in just 56 seconds. The bout, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, was attended by Nelson Mandela, a long time family friend.
For more about Laila Ali CLICK HERE
