He was the biggest celebrity in the world, beloved by millions for his bravado and tenacity in the ring and for his generosity and social- justice efforts outside of it.
But out of the spotlight, his personal life was filled with contradictions.
The brash boxer who practically invented trash talking would drive hours to visit a hospitalized child, but he was frequently absent from his own kids’ lives. The devout Muslim — who took his objection to war all the way to the Supreme Court — was a serial adulterer who fathered two love children.
Muhammad Ali’s turbulent personal life was a reflection of his career, alternating triumph and downfall, adoration and estrangement.
He was married four times. In August 1964, at 22, then-Cassius Clay wed cocktail waitress Sonji Roi just a month after they met. The marriage crumbled following the fighter’s conversion to Islam and they divorced in January 1966; they had no children.
Next at the altar was Belinda Boyd, a 17-year-old whose parents who were part of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad’s inner circle in Chicago. They married in August 1967, and she changed her name to Khalilah Ali. Two years later, she bore the first of their four children, a daughter, Maryum. Twin daughters, Jamillah and Rasheda, followed, and in 1973, Ali’s only biological son, Muhammad Jr..
Ali’s namesake was alienated from his father for the last few years, but may have reconciled before the Champ’s death.
“I wished before my dad got really sick, I could have had that father-son relationship, but that’s impossible now,” Ali Jr. told The Post in 2014, recalling his father’s long absences as he grew up. “I wish I could have made up for lost time.”
Family spokesman Robert Gunnell said at a press conference Saturday that Ali’s entire family was present when he died. Ali Jr.’s Facebook profile features a faded photo of his father and himself as a boy.
Ali was repeatedly unfaithful to Khalilah — a source of frequent tension in their marriage. She eventually conceded to Ali having a mistress, Veronica Porsche, who he had met in 1974 at the “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman in Zaire, but they divorced a short time later.
Ali and Porsche married in 1977 and had two children, Hana and Laila, before divorcing in 1986.
Laila is the only one of Ali’s children to follow him into the boxing ring. She was undefeated in a 24-bout career from 1999-2007, and appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2007.
Just months after Ali’s divorce from Porsche, Yolanda “Lonnie” Williams became wife number four. A former neighbor, she was 15 years younger and re-entered his life as his health began to decline. But she was also business savvy, and helped the former champ rebuild his legacy and his dwindled fortune. The couple adopted a son, Asaad Amin.
Ali also has two other children, Miya and Aaisha, from affairs.
Ali Jr. was among the family members who accused Williams of isolating the ailing boxer in recent years. Three years ago Ali’s brother, Rahman Ali (formerly Rudy Clay), complained in an interview with the National Enquirer that the former boxer was a “prisoner in his own home.” Ali’s other children denied these claims.
While Gunnell said the family rallied together as it was clear the champ was dying, the familial strife may continue.
Rahman Ali told the Enquirer in 2013 that he expected Williams had made his brother alter his will to name her executor. “When he dies no one will get anything — zero.”
There’s likely to be plenty to argue over.
The boxing legend sold the rights to his name and image a decade ago for $50 million to licensing mastermind Robert Sillerman, chief executive of CKX, who also owns the rights to Elvis Presley’s likeness and image. Ali also kept a 20 percent interest in his name and image, which continues to pull in millions each year.