Muhammad Ali's family poised to fight over huge £30million boxing fortune

Muhammad Ali’s family are poised to fight over his huge boxing fortune, with his nine children, ex wives and brother all set to enter the ring.

The ring legend’s £30million estate is set to spark one of the most bitter contests the Ali clan has ever seen.

The figure at stake could rise because of the memorabilia Ali is reported to have collected throughout his career.

Already his brother Rahman and son Muhammad Jr are at loggerheads with his current wife Lonnie, fearing they may have been left out of the will.

They claim she has ensured she controls “the purse strings” after having been made executor of the will.

A source close to the family said: “It’s not a sparring match between them, it’s a full-on fight.

“It is no secret that there is bad blood between Lonnie and the rest of the family. They accuse her of coming between them and Ali’s blood relatives, including his daughters. It is a very fractious relationship.

“There is no doubt Lonnie cared and loved Muhammad but also she took control of the business affairs and acted as the gatekeeper to them.

“It will be amazing if this doesn’t end up in the courts.”

Muhammad’s ex-wife Khalilah has confirmed that both Rahman and Muhammad Jr are saying they have been left out of the will.

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The boxer had not seen his only natural son for two years. And last night an interview with Muhammad Jr – given two months ago – further exposed divisions within the family.

The 43-year-old has been living on poverty line for last decade in Chicago, supporting his wife and two children by living off handouts from charities.

Muhammad Jr, who is the son of Ali’s first wife Khalilah, said in the interview, published online yesterday: “I’m trying to live life, and be good.

“I saw him on his 72nd birthday, then on his 73rd birthday. I sung happy birthday to him and I heard nothing back, he didn’t respond and I know it was the Parkinson’s. I knew he was in a pretty bad shape.

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‘I don’t discuss my father to my sisters about anything, I don’t have anybody I can confide in, so I don’t do that. I don’t really care anymore about being cut off from the family.

“I’ve got through so much things in my life, I’ve got to the point where it doesn’t matter anymore, I live for me. I live life.

‘I know that the last thing about Parkinson’s is being bed ridden, and he’s been laid up in bed for months.

‘My grandfather also has Parkinson’s, I don’t think about my father, when my grandfather is in Flossmoor, I’m close to him, more than I am my father, I’ve got to serve my purpose and help my grandfather Sada Ali-Din, at least I’m helping somebody.

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‘He’s got Parkinson’s, my mother’s father. He lives with Amina.

‘It’s just not something that I worry about, I’ve got more things to worry about than my father, I got to live life, I’ve got to have a roof over my head, whether someone else is doing good or not, is no concern to me.

Lonnie, who had been Muhammad’s childhood friend, became his fourth wife in 1986 - two years after he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

Family members claim she plotted her way into his life by moving to an apartment near his home, and offering her services as a nurse shortly after his symptoms began.

He was still married to his third wife, Veronica, at the time.

Ali earned his biggest payday inside the ring on October 10, 1980 against Larry Holmes.

Despite being defeated by a technical knockout he earned $8million (£5.5 million).

From the ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ the icon earned $6 million (£4 million) in the ring against Joe Frazier in 1975.

The three-time heavyweight champ earned millions of dollars each year through his company, GOAT LLC, until he sold it.

Each year it would generate between $4million and $7million annually from roughly 2001 to 2006, through deals with companies like Electronic Arts and Adidas.

The company’s title was an acronym for his trademark phrase, ‘Greatest of All Time.’

In 2006 Lonnie and Ali sold the company to a man named Robert Sillerman, who was the chief executive of the company CKX in a deal worth a reported $50 million.

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The Alis retained 20% of the business but CKX owned 80 per cent rights to the use of his name.

According to Forbes, his name had generated between $4million and $7million annually from roughly 2001 to 2006, through deals with companies like Electronic Arts and Adidas.

In addition, Ali owned property in, Michigan and Kentucky, and last year they sold a home located outside of Philadelphia for $690,000 he lived in to train for some of his most dramatic fights.

His current home is a $1.64-million, six-bedroom home in a gated community near the Camelback Golf Club in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Maryum Ali, who was extremely close to her father and who was the daughter of Ali’s first wife Belinda Boyd, was at his bedside when he died.

The 48-year-old eldest daughter of Ali, known as May May, has worked as a stand up comedian and rap artist.