In her first match, on October 8, 1999, the 5’10”, 166 lbs, 21-year-old Ali boxed April Fowler of Michigan City, Indiana. They fought at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino on the Oneida Indian Nation in Verona, New York. Although this was Ali’s first match, many journalists and fans attended, largely because she was Muhammad Ali’s daughter. Attention to Ali’s ring debut was further boosted because it occurred on the eve of what was supposed to be the first male-female professional bout ever to be sanctioned by a US state boxing commission … later ruled an exhibition. As WomenBoxing.com explains: “The near-alignment of the two events focused more attention on female professional boxing than there had been since Christy Martin’s 1996 pay-per-view fight with Deirdre Gogarty.” Ali knocked out Fowler – described by WomenBoxing.com as an “out-of-shape novice” – in the first round.

In 2000, Ali played herself in an episode of The Jersey called “Bat Girl” in which Morgan Hudson (played by Courtnee Draper) turns to her in order to get a little more of a perspective as she learns the true meaning of girl power.

Ali married Johnny “Yahya” McClain on August 27, 2000. She met McClain through her sister Hana at her father’s 57th birthday party. McClain became Ali’s manager and helped guide her career. In late 2005, Ali and McClain divorced and McClain quit managing Ali.

In 2001, She appeared as herself on the show One on One.

After a year’s hiatus, on June 7, 2002, Ali beat Shirvelle Williams in a six-round decision.

She won the IBA title with a second-round knockout of Suzette Taylor on August 17, 2002, in Las Vegas.

In early 2002, Ali appeared in a boxing role for the music video “Deny” by Canadian hard rock band Default. The video gained airplay on music channels including MTV2 and MMUSA.

In 2002, Ali wrote (with co-author David Ritz) the book Reach! Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power, meant to motivate and inspire young people. In this book, she confides that she felt isolated at times because of her parents’ fame. Ali has also spent some time in jail, and describes her arrests and the physical abuse she experienced in jail. Critics say that Ali’s book has a good foundation but she does not give the readers advice; rather, she just talks about her own experiences.

On June 21, 2003, Mahfood and Ali fought a rematch, this time in Los Angeles. Once again bloodied by Ali, Mahfood lost by TKO in six rounds while trying to recover her world title. Nevertheless, Ali suffered a bad cut on her right eyelid for the first time in her career, inflicted by Mahfood. Ali also suffered a bloodied nose for the second time in her career during this fight, the first being in Ali’s fight with Frazier-Lyde two years previously.

On August 23, 2003, Ali fought her original inspiration, Christy Martin, beating Martin by a knockout in four rounds.

On July 17, 2004, Ali retained her world title, knocking out Nikki Eplion in four rounds.

On July 30, 2004, she stopped Monica Nunez in nine rounds, in her father’s native city of Louisville, Kentucky. This fight was part of the undercard for the fight in which Mike Tyson was surprisingly knocked out by fringe contender Danny Williams.

On September 24, 2004, Ali added the IWBF Light Heavyweight title to her resume by beating Gwendolyn O’Neil (whom she had earlier canceled a fight against) by a knockout in three rounds, at Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2004, Ali appeared on the George Lopez show, where she owned a gym, as well as on Real Husbands of Hollywood.

On February 1, 2005, in Atlanta, Ali scored a commanding and decisive eighth-round technical knockout over Cassandra Geiggar in a ten-round fight.

On June 11, 2005, on the undercard to the Tyson-Kevin McBride fight, Ali defeated Erin Toughill in round three to remain undefeated and won the World Boxing Council title in addition to defending her WIBA crown. She was the second woman to win a WBC title (Jackie Nava was the first). Toughill and Ali disliked each other, and prior to the fight Toughill joked about Ali. Ali promised she would punish Toughill, much like her father did with Ernie Terrell back in 1967.

On December 17, 2005, in Berlin, Ali fought and defeated Åsa Sandell by TKO in the fifth round. Following Ali’s hard right to Sandell’s face with 17 seconds remaining in Round 5, Sandell was struck by numerous undefended shots to her head. The referee stopped the bout with 12 seconds remaining. Muhammad Ali was in attendance and kissed his daughter.

While a guest on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith on June 7, 2006, Ali announced that she would be making a world tour, and said that she was looking forward to fighting Ann Wolfe in October 2006. However, the fight with Wolfe never materialized. Instead, on November 11, 2006, Ali fought and defeated Shelley Burton by TKO in the fourth round. Ali was rescheduled to fight O’Neil in Cape Town, on August 5, 2006, but Ali pulled out amid allegations of fraud. The match eventually took place in South Africa on February 2, 2007. Ali defeated O’Neil in the first-round by technical knockout. It was Ali’s last professional fight.

Ali also appeared in a 2007 episode of Yo Gabba Gabba!, titled “Train”, in a brief dance number, and on Love That Girl, episode 3.4, “Fighting Shape”.

On July 23, 2007, Ali married former NFL player Curtis Conway in Los Angeles. They have two children together: a son born in August 2008, and a daughter born in April 2011. Ali is the stepmother of Conway’s three children: twin sons Cameron and Kelton (born 1995) and daughter Leilani (born 1999).

Ali hosted the revival of American Gladiators alongside Hulk Hogan. The show premiered in January 2008.

Ali and the cast of American Gladiators appeared on the NBC show Celebrity Family Feud (Roker) in an episode that aired on July 8, 2008.

In 2012, Ali was picked to co-host Everyday Health with Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca. The show aired on ABC Saturday mornings and profiled everyday people living with health issues, who aspired to not let their issues keep them from helping others or doing extraordinary things.

Also in 2012, Ali appeared in a Kohl’s commercial with a tag line, “I box to win; I shop to win.”.

On February 4, 2013, Ali appeared on the NBC reality series, The Biggest Loser in the episode “Lead By Example”. In the episode, she boxed alongside Dolvett Quince’s team, consisting of Jackson Carter, Joe Ostaszewski and Francelina Morillo.

In March 2013, Ali started appearing as a co-host on multiple episodes of the E! talk show series Fashion Police filling in for Giuliana Rancic ,who was on maternity leave. In May 2013, Ali once again filled in for Rancic, who had other commitments and was unable attend the show.

In April 2013, Ali participated in two episodes of Chopped: All Stars, making it to the final round, competing for a favorite charity.

In September 2013, Ali began hosting All In with Laila Ali, a new show in the CBS Saturday morning lineup “CBS Dream Team”. The following year, she began hosting Late Night Chef Fight on the cable network FYI. In 2014, she appeared in the film Falcon Rising.

In May 2014, Ali participated in an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap. She swapped places with singer Angie Stone and tried to instill healthier habits on the family.

In 2019, Ali participated in the second season of The Masked Singer as the “Panda”. She was eliminated at the end of her episode.

In 2020, Ali voiced herself in the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Season 2 episode “The Crown Jewel of Boxing.”