The youngest daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali is to follow in his footsteps and enter the ring for her first professional fight in Las Vegas next month, the German newspaper Bild reported this week

The fact that the 57-year-old Ali has been slowed by Parkinson's disease has not deterred 21-year-old Laila Ali from entering the ring. "It was never proven that the Parkinson's disease from which he suffers was caused by boxing," she said.

Her heavyweight champion father has not stepped into the ring in 18 years, but he has given his daughter several tips and the youngest of Ali's seven children by three marriages has faith in her own ability. "The world expects something from me. I want to achieve what my father did, I want to win titles, to shake up the world," said Laila. The confidence must be genetic.