Laila Ali Reflects on Her Childhood with Father Muhammad Ali: 'Imagine Having Superman as Your Dad'

As a child, Laila Ali took a few years to understand what was so "super special" about her father, Muhammad Ali.

Any time they went out in public, "there would be a crowd around us," the wellness advocate, television host and retired prizefighter tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "He'd stop traffic."

"I don't know any other different father, other than Muhammad Ali, so for me it's almost like imagine having Superman as your dad. It's just like, 'Oh, okay. He goes out and saves the world. He can fly. It's just what he does,'" says Ali, 44.

"But I think that it definitely shaped the way that I view people," she continues. "It's like, What are you doing to change the world? How are you using your platform to make a difference? Are you uplifting other people? Are you a good role model to children? All those things are so important to me, and I think it's because of the example that my dad set and that foundation that he laid. It definitely makes me want to strive for excellence. And it just gives me a rich sense of pride like, 'Oh, wow, we have the same DNA.'"

The late boxer, who died in 2016 at the age of 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, made history inside the ring as a heavyweight prizefighter, but he secured an enduring legacy as a champion of civil rights and Black pride, as well as an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and a showman with a flair for trash talk.

Over time, Ali learned the full extent of her father's cultural and political footprint.

"My whole outlook on life is my belief in myself, my belief in other people, my understanding of us all being connected, the humility that I have towards other human beings — that all really is ingrained in me from my father," she tells PEOPLE. "My dad always said, 'Never step on others to get ahead.' I have a feeling there's enough space for everyone to be successful in life."

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As much as Ali has embraced and emulated her father's values, she wasn't always set on following his path professionally — and once he found out she was following him into the ring, he "wasn't happy."

"I never looked at my dad and thought, 'Oh, I can do that too,'" she tells PEOPLE. "Actually seeing women boxing gave me the idea that I could do it because in my mind, it just wasn't even a woman's sport."

For about a year, boxing "kept calling me, so I decided to go to the gym and start training in secrecy to see if I had what it took because I understood the magnitude of Muhammad Ali's daughter becoming a fighter and I knew if I was going to face the world, I had to feel confident and ready."

Once Ali's father found out she was following him into the ring, he "wasn't happy." In fact, she says, "He literally tried to talk me out of it," citing the pressure of being his daughter and the belief that boxing was "a man's sport."

"Everything that I already knew, he spelled it all out," she recalls. "He proceeded to say, 'Well what happens if you get knocked out and everyone's watching you and you're on the canvas and there's lights shining down and an audience?' I said, 'Dad, if I get knocked down, I am going to get back up just like you did.'"

She ultimately told her father, "I respect you Dad, but I've already made my mind up," and adds, "Of course, he ended up supporting me as his daughter."

Ali went on to win several titles in the Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight women's classes. After she collected a few belts, her father visited her with "another one of those serious looks" on his face.

"He told me that he apologized and that he was wrong and that ... he was proud of me, and that just brought us both to tears," she remembers.

Of course, she was still his daughter — and his youngest daughter of nine children, to boot — so "next thing I know ... he starts trying to teach me how to jab. That's the first punch you learn in boxing. I'm like, 'Really? I just won this championship and you're trying to teach me how to jab?' But, of course, if Muhammad Ali wants to teach you something, you take it."

In the moment, Ali realized she'd "changed his mind about me, about women's boxing, about the limits he had on his mind for women."

Ali retired in 2007, but she still has the tokens of her biggest wins in her home: "I'm looking at my one of my [World Boxing Council] Championship belts. He has the same belt, and it's one of the most prestigious title belts — and they have my father's picture on it, and they have my picture for the female side," she tells PEOPLE. "So every female that gets a belt has my picture on her belt, and every male champion has my father's picture, which is pretty amazing."

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