25 (non-Bravo) real life housewives who are pretty badass

Odessa Grady Clay

You know Odessa Grady Clay was a fighter if her legacy includes two of the most successful boxers in the world. Mother to three time Heavyweight champ, Muhammed Ali, and grandmother to Laila Ali, Odessa Grady Clay taught her son how to be a fighter, but also how to be still and gentle.

Clay married Muhammed’s father when she was young, and often had to pick up domestic work to help support her three children. According to her son, she was steadfast and didn’t yield when it came to matters of faith and belief. He famously said, “She’s a sweet, fat, wonderful woman, who loves to cook, eat, make clothes, and be with family. She doesn’t drink, smoke, meddle in other people’s business, or bother anyone, and there’s no one who’s been better to me my whole life.”

Clay was her son’s greatest supporter, following him around to venues, big and small. She was his voice of reason, and kept him grounded when he could otherwise be a little hot-tempered. If it were not for the influence of Odessa Clay on her son, the world might never have been able to see Muhammed Ali win those three belts, nor could they see the influence of a mother on her son.