Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali’s wife Khalilah Camacho Ali visited PAF academy
By.Asghar Ali Mubarak
Islamabad: The ex-wife of former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali’s wife Khalilah Camacho Ali visited Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Academy Asghar Khan on Sunday. Khalilah Camacho Ali (born Belinda Tolona Ali in 1950) is an martial artist, Author and Motivational Speaker, also known for being the former wife of boxer Muhammad Ali.
Khalilah was the boxing legend’s second wife. The couple gave birth to four children. She interacted with the officers and cadets during her visit to the Flying Training Wing of the academy. Being an enthusiastic aviator with 830 flying hours to her credit, she flew a training mission in the Super Mushshak aircraft of Primary Flying Training Wing. Talking to the aviation cadets and flying instructors, she appreciated the professionalism of the flying instructors and the training standards of the academy. She also expressed her gratitude to Chief of Air Staff Chief Marshal Sohail Aman for inviting her to visit the academy and giving her the opportunity to fly in a PAF training aircraft. Earlier, she also graced the final of Women Squash Tournament held at Mushaf Squash Complex, Islamabad as the guest of honour. She lauded the earnest efforts of Pakistan Squash Federation for providing world class squash facilities to the young girls in Pakistan.PAF Academy Asghar Khan is located in the town of Risalpur in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On other day at media center Muhammad Ali’s Ex-wife urged women, in particular, to embrace their roles as leaders in the family, in society and in the formation of the next generation.”We are the mothers of civilization,” the mother of four began, in speech that was equal parts conversation and gospel. “Men need us to be kind to them, to give them hope … If they feel good about themselves, coming from you, they can conquer the world.”Ali knows of what she speaks. She is credited with rebranding Cassius Clay as Muhammad Ali. “The Trials of Muhammad-Ali,” she tells of his conversion to Islam and of his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War, despite facing a five-year prison sentence. He was banned from boxing for the decision — a belief in conscience over fame that resonates today. During the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, Camacho-Ali reminded women in a packed auditorium at Westside Park to be true to them and to begin by respecting themselves.
She urged parents to keep the family sacrosanct. “You need to grow up and set an example for these children, so they can grow up and be mamas, not baby mamas,” she said. “Remember love — and cast out the old stuff,” she continued.”You have greatness inside of you right now, so be careful,” Camacho-Ali cautioned. “If you throw that away on drugs and alcohol, you are missing out on the greatness that is there.”Muhammad Ali’s ex-wife recently opened up about what it was like being married to the boxing champ during his most trying years.
Camacho Ali, who married the boxer in 1967, said their 10-year marriage was “the best time of my entire life,” “See, you guys don’t realize Ali wasn’t the great Muhammad Ali as he is now. He was going in that direction. He was struggling in that direction. He was struggling with people taking everything from him and I was the only thing that held everything together,” she said.
Ali said she used her own money to support him for three years, but offered him emotional support as well.
“You know, I kind of guided him along the way, and it was it was a wonderful struggle, and it was tough for him. He was depressed most of the time. He was unhappy, didn’t know what the hell was going to happen to him. So I had to give him that positiveness, that positive ‘Hey, you can have a family. We can do this together. I could write the speeches, and you could speak the speeches, and we’ll become a people’s champ,’” she said.
The pair’s marriage — which ended in 1977 — experienced highs and lows. Ali’s evasion of the Vietnam draft cost him his boxing title, a decision later overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971. During their marriage, the boxer also reclaimed his heavyweight title in a 1974 match against George Foreman. The couple had four children together.
In recent years, Ali has been in the spotlight for his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He is currently married to Yolanda Williams, his fourth wife. In 1999, he was deemed “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and is regarded as one of the greatest athletes of our time.
“Where did you get your name from?” and “Are you Muslim?” are some of the questions Muhammad Ali Jr. was asked by immigration officials for nearly two hours.
