ATLANTA (AP) — Laila Ali, daughter of former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, won the International Women's Boxing Federation light heavyweight championship by knocking out Gwendolyn O'Neil at 1:59 of the third round Friday night.
Ali knocked O'Neil down twice in the second round, each time with a right hand to the chin, as the crowd estimated at 6,000 chanted "Ali, Ali, Ali" for the 26-year old, who improved to 19-0 with 16 KOs.
The 5-foot-10, 174-pound Ali began pounding O'Neil late in the third round and ended the fight with a barrage of punches to the face, knocking O'Neil down in a neutral corner where she sat stunned as she was counted out.
O'Neil, from Guyana, fell to 9-4-1 with six knockouts. She was ranked No. 6 by the IWBF.
"She was tough," Ali said. "I had to hit her with straight rights to knock her down."
In the first round, Ali let O'Neil be the aggressor, blocking most punches with her gloves without fighting back. Then, she bounced around and peppered O'Neil with jabs and hooks.
"That was my version of the 'rope a dope,"' Ali said, referring to her father's famous tactic.
Ali, who lives in Las Vegas, used the fight as a tuneup for her Oct. 30 bout against Jacqui Frazier in Kinshasa, Congo, where her father fought in the storied "Rumble in the Jungle," knocking out George Foreman in Kinshasa in 1974.
Frazier is the daughter of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, who fought Muhammad Ali several times.
Laila Ali, who began fighting in 1999, also owns the IWBF middleweight title.