Laila Ali vs. Valerie Mahfood (1st meeting)
Laila Ali 167 lbs beat Valerie Mahfood 162 lbs by TKO at 1:14 in round 8 of 10
- Date: 2002-11-08
- Location: Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Referee: Joe Cortez
- WIBA Women's International Boxing Association super middleweight title
- IWBF International Women's Boxing Federation super middleweight title
- International Boxing Association female super middleweight title
- IBA Super Middleweight Title
- Promoter: Absoloot Entertainment Inc
- Doctors: Margaret Goodman / James Game
- Television: United States ESPN2
Laila Ali used a dominating left jab and straight right hand to score a knockout over Valerie Mahfood in the eighth round to win their super middleweight title bout Friday night. Ali (13-0, 10 KO), of Las Vegas, walked into the ring at the Stratosphere with one title belt and walked out with three. The 24-year-old daughter of Muhammad Ali now holds the IBA, IWBF and WIBA super middleweight titles.
The 28-year-old Mahfood (13-5, 7 KO), of Port Arthur, Texas, was unable to get inside Ali's constant left jab and straight right hand. She weighs 161 pounds.
Ali, who weighs 167 pounds, used a pair of four-punch combinations in the second round to bloody Mahfood's nose and closed round four with a big left hook to the body and a three-punch combination to the head.
In the eighth round, Ali came out stalking Mahfood and midway through the round began throwing left-right-left combinations that sent Mahfood reeling to the ropes.
Referee Joe Cortez jumped in and stopped the bout at 1:14, after the second flurry.