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28 Feb, 2020 16:48

'He changed the sport like my dad did': Muhammad Ali's daughter content with Conor McGregor comparison (VIDEO)

Rasheda Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, says that she is unconcerned with comparisons between her father and Irish MMA star Conor McGregor, who she says changed his sport in the same way that her father changed his.

Ever since McGregor burst on to the UFC scene in 2013 with his laconic wit and concussive left cross, many a lazy tabloid editor has gushed forth with comparisons between McGregor and the most prominent silver-tongued sports star ever, Muhammad Ali.

McGregor has distanced himself from these links, saying that he could never attain the same status as the most famous fighter in history, but those comparisons aren't entirely off the mark, according to Ali's daughter Rasheda.

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"I think my dad was the first trash-talker in sports, period," Ali told RT.

"I think he did a very good job. One of the things that put him on the map as a boxer was his trash-talking. It was something at that time people had never seen before.

"I think certainly Conor and a lot of other trash-talkers out there, of course, I think they would look up to my dad because I think he was the best one to do it."

Both fighters are famous for a lot more than their mouths and both assumed their status as leaders of the fight game by first speaking their mind, then backing it up when it became time to walk the walk. 

Ali says, though, that her fighter has an edge over the mixed martial arts king.

"You're asking me, of course my dad is [better]. He started it. I think that he's the king of trash-talking. He was the first rapper. I think that my dad would come out on top but I do think that Conor and a lot of these other trash-talkers out there, boxers and MMA, combat sports alike, I think they all look up to my dad because he kinda started it."

Ali may have started the trend, but several have followed since. Of course, Chael Sonnen's investment in his verbal game in the latter part of his career certainly paid dividends, while Colby Covington's polarizing verbal outburst have undoubtedly turned him into a star since he transplanted a MAGA-loving Trump supporter element to his persona.

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McGregor, Ali says, is more original and that is what makes him compelling to watch.

"Conor's exciting," she says. "I think he brought excitement to MMA. I think his trash-talking, of course obviously he felt uncomfortable being compared to Muhammad Ali because he looked up to my father. I think he made MMA interesting to watch for those who wouldn't normally watch combat sports. He made it exciting and I think he was the first one in MMA to do that. 

"He's not Muhammad Ali but I think the comparison is okay because, again, he changed the sport like my dad did in the sense that he made it interesting and fun to watch."

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