But despite her notoriety, the youngest daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali is in more ways than one determined to call her own shots and is seeking neither public approval nor media handouts.

"l can't get away from who my father is," said the 3-0 (3ko's) light heavyweight fighter. "But as far as being an athlete, I'm nothing like my father - he's 'the Greatest,' and I've got a long way to go, step by step."

And this Ali's not doing a lot of talking along the way. When she does speak, she appears to do so only enough to put things in order. In as much as she brings to the ring her father's charisma and style, the 5 feet, 10 inch, 166 pound beauty is aware of the "built-in" hype she musters, and unlike her legendary father - whom USA Today recently named "Athlete of the Century," - Laila clearly prefers to play it low-key with the media.

"I've never been really concerned with what people have been saying," she said firmly when asked about the press' comments about her fight with Fowler, which lasted a mere 31 seconds into the scheduled four-round bout. Fowler was said to be seriously overmatched, leading some members of the media billing the bout as a black eye to women's boxing. "What other people say really doesn't concern me," Ali said. "l just stay focused."

Her commitment to staying focused appears to be working. Since her fight with Fowler, Ali has plowed through opponents Shadina Pennybaker - in a fourth round TKO on November 10, and Nicolyn Armstrong one month later with a second round KO, quieting any doubts about her real ability in the ring, including comments from former trainer, Kevin Morgan about her "inner toughness."

"He obviously didn't know me very well," asserted Ali. "That's why he's not my trainer any more."

She has, however, listened to the concerns of her father and mother, Veronica Anderson, the third of Muhammad Ali's four wives. Dispelling rumors that they were uncomfortable with their daughter's decision to pursue a boxing career, both parents were present at her first bout. Ali assures, though, that both of her parents are very supportive.

"Neither told me not to box," Ali said. "They just wanted me to know what I was getting into with all the media attention."

To be sure, there is much attention surrounding Ali, who, until her fight with Fowler, had never even had an amateur bout, but had simply taken up the sport as a means of getting fit.

"Laila liked the feel of the gloves," said Butt Watson, Ali's fight coordinator. "And winning is in the genes, so going at it professionally was a natural step for her."

Watson, who matched Ali's controversial fight with Fowler, defended his choice. "She'd never had a fight before. She's Laila Ali, and she had no amateur background," Watson said. "These are the things you consider in a fighter's background when you're putting together a fight. In any debut fight, the main objective is to not get them beat."

Watson also talked candidly about the increasing stir surrounding a challenge to Ali by Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier for an "Ali vs Frazier IV."

"As of October, Frazier-Lyde has been in the gym training with her brother, former heavyweight contender, Marvis Frazier," Watson revealed. "For her it's all about trying to avenge the two losses her father had to Muhammad Ali and make some money. She's not looking to make this a career."

"lf Laila Ali wants a piece of me, I'll kick her butt," Frazier-Lyde said recently in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News.

Ali sounded almost bored as she set the record straight. "Let me put it this way: the girl is not a pro fighter. I think I need to look forward to a lot of people trying to ride on my coattail but I'm not thinking about fighting anyone who's not a professional fighter."

Sounds like a plan. And Laila Ali's got a few of them.

She recently signed a contract for a four-round bout scheduled to take place in Beijing, China in April, 2000, where she'll be the first female professional boxer to ever compete there.

And in November, she became engaged to former WBU cruiserweight boxing champ Johnny (Yahya) McClain, who is also her assistant trainer and manager. "We haven't made any wedding plans," Ali said.

She refuses to be cornered by questions regarding her personal affairs. "Boxing and my personal life are two separate things," she stressed. "I have a life outside of boxing, but this is what I'm doing now."

Just how far does Laila Ali want to go with what she's "doing now?" What are her ultimate plans for the ring?

Her almost-curt style of conversation is more than ready to make the matter clear: "I'm going for World Champion," she said. "That's my goal."

Somehow you know this lady means it.