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‘Muhammad Ali’s wife has stopped me from seeing my father,’ claims his son

‘Muhammad Ali’s wife has stopped me from seeing my father’, says boxing legend’s son who lives on food stamps in the ghetto and shovels snow for a few dollars

Muhammad Ali Junior, 41, is the boxer’s son from his second marriage
His father has a total of nine children – seven daughters, Muhammad Ali Jnr and an adopted son Assaad
But Muhammad Ali Jnr claims he has been cut off from his father since he married his fourth wife Lonnie
He tried to call him on his 72nd birthday this month but couldn’t get through
Muhammad Ali Jnr says he wants nothing more than to spend some time with his father who is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease

By SUZANNAH HILLS
PUBLISHED: 13:36, 26 January 2024 | UPDATED: 15:00, 26 January 2024

The son of boxing champion Muhammad Ali has accused the millionaire’s wife of refusing to let him see his ailing father.

Muhammad Ali Junior, 41, who says he is forced to survive on food stamps in a rough Chicago neighbourhood, last saw his father on his 71st birthday a year ago.

But as the legendary boxer turned 72 on January 17, Muhammad Ali Junior claims he couldn’t even get through on the phone to wish him a happy birthday.

He alleges his father’s fourth wife of 27 years, Lonnie, has made it increasingly difficult for him to see or even speak to the retired sportsman who is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease.

Ongoing family feud: Muhammad Ali Junior, 41, pictured left, claims he has been stopped from seeing his boxing champion father, pictured right in 2024, by his fourth wife Lonnie

‘Controlling’: Lonnie, pictured with husband Muhammad Ali in 2024, has been accused of preventing members of the the boxer’s family from seeing or even speaking to him

He says more than anything he wants to see his father before he dies.

The boxer had nine children in total – seven daughter, Muhammad Ali Junior and Asaad, 22, who he adopted with Lonnie.

Muhammad Ali Junior, who lives in a tiny two bedroom flat with his wife Shaakira and two daughters Ameera, six, and Shakera, five, says he has repeatedly tried to contact his father on the phone but doesn’t have the money to make the trip to his Kentucky mansion.

He told The Sun On Sunday: ‘As soon as he married Lonnie, that’s when the problems started. We can’t see him any more. He can’t see his own brother because of Lonnie.

‘I tried calling him on his birthday but got no answer. When I call, they usually say he’s in the shower, sleeping or in therapy, and to call back.

Muhammad Ali Jnr claims he tried to contact his father, pictured in 2024, on his birthday earlier this month but he couldn’t get through. He alleges that the boxer’s fourth wife Lonnie never allows him to speak to his father

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Act of kindness: Lonnie Ali’s supporters insist she is merely defending her husband from family members who wish to leech off his fame

‘When I do they don’t answer. I shouldn’t need an appointment to to see my father.’

Muhammad Ali Junior, who was born in 1972 to the boxer’s second wife 17-year-old Belinda Boyd, believes Lonnie may have cut him out because he is unemployed and doesn’t own a house or a car.

The father-of-two says he has been trying to find a job but few people are hiring so he now shovels snow off his neighbours driveway just to make a few dollars to feed his family.

He believes his father would help him with his current financial situation if he were still coherent, but says that is no longer the case.

But he insists he doesn’t care about his father’s money, he just wants to be allowed back into his life and to spend as much time together as possible in the time he has left.
Those who have defended Lonnie claim she is protecting Muhammad Ali from family members who want to sponge off his fame.
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Showman: Muhammad Ali, seen in the ring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1974, was unfaithful to his wives

Glamour: Ali with third wife Veronica, who the boxer declared was ‘the world’s most beautiful black woman’

Vatican Car Stopped at French Border With 4 Kilos of Cocaine

Pope Francis may have often spoken out against the “evil” of drug use, but the Vatican was facing embarrassment on Tuesday after 9lb of Cocaine was found in a car bearing diplomatic plates associated With the Holy See.

The car, which was Stopped and searched in France, belonged to Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, who had entrusted it to two Italian men.

Aged 91, the cardinal retired in 2024 and holds the title of emeritus librarian at the Holy See.

The two men, aged 30 and 41, had reportedly been told by his private secretary to take the car for a routine service.

Instead they promptly drove to Spain, where they allegedly bought the Cocaine and from there drove into France. They reportedly believed that the car’s diplomatic status would place them above suspicion.

But on Sunday they were Stopped at a toll station near Chambery in the French Alps, en route back to Italy, where police found the Cocaine hidden in suitcases and bags, along With seven ounces of cannabis.

They were arrested and will appear in front of a French magistrate on charges of drug trafficking.

The Vatican confirmed the report, but said that as both men were Italian rather than citizens of the Vatican City State, it had nothing to do With the Holy See.

Cardinal Mejia is not well and obviously has nothing to do With this,” said Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. “It’s now up to the police to pursue their investigations.”

Pope Francis has often warned of the dangers of taking drugs, most recently in June when he called addiction an “evil”.

He is firmly opposed to the legalisation of any drugs, despite moves in many countries in the West, including several states in the US, to allow the personal consumption of soft drugs such as marijuana.

“I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: no to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that,” he told a drug enforcement conference in Rome.

Drug trafficking “continues to spread inexorably,” he said, adding it was fuelled by “a deplorable commerce which transcends national borders.”

Cocaine found in Vatican City diplomatic car – Telegraph