Here is how Laila Ali makes her father Muhammad Ali proud

Where there's a will there's a way and it rightly fits with the professional boxer Laila Ali.

In an exclusive interview with Today's Jill Martin, Laila Ali, daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali recalled the moment when she realized she could become a world-class athlete.

Despite growing up with the star, Laila didn't focus on sports during much of her childhood. But once she became a young adult, that all changed.

“I actually did not even think about becoming not only an athlete, but a boxer until I saw women’s boxing on television for the first time when I was about 19 years old,” Laila spilled in an interview from Shop Today With Jill Martin, shared by E! Online.

“I was in awe and I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know that it was an opportunity available to me. That’s when I first got the idea to become a professional boxer.”

However, when her father got to know of her interest, he wasn’t thrilled to hear that his daughter was towing in his footsteps.

“My dad was not happy about it,” Laila recalled to Jill Martin. “He literally tried to talk me out of it. I had to prove him wrong. ‘Dad, I can understand why you feel that way, but just watch me.'”

However, after Laila won world titles and countless knockouts during her career from 1999 to 2007, she received immense respect and support of her dad.

"He apologized and said, ‘I was wrong. You were right. You can fight and women can fight and I'm proud of you,'" Laila recalled. "Of course that warmed my heart."xing

On the work front, Laila in 2014  made her feature film-acting debut as the co-star of the action movie, Falcon Rising, opposite martial arts star, Michael Jai White.