"The Greatest" not doing very well at all.....

[Blimpie]

I hate like hell to read this story. I consider watching all of the Ali fights (most especially The Thrilla in Manila) on ABC Sports during 1970's as some of the most exciting television I have ever viewed in my lifetime....


This is LONDON
04/11/05 - Showbiz section

Ali has months to live

Muhammad ALI may have just months to live, it has emerged yesterday. The 63-year-old boxing great, who has battled Parkinson's disease for 20 years, can no longer talk and is shutting himself away from those closest to him.

His daughter Laila said: "It is painful for me because I would love to sit down and talk with my dad about the way he used to be when he was my age, when he was in his prime, because we are so alike. I can't really do that. I can't share a lot of things with him.

"He likes doing simple things, to draw and colour and do magic tricks. But his attention span is very short."

A close family friend said: "His condition has worsened. At this point he may only have months to live."

Ali's manager, Howard Bingham, added: "Laila feels she is losing him."

The heavyweight boxing legend was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1985, four years after he quit the sport. He is presently having therapy following treatment for neck and back problems.

Another family friend told the National Enquirer: "The guy has always been a battler and he's been fighting Parkinson's as best he can for years. But this is one match he is going to lose no matter how many rounds he goes."

Ali won the world heavyweight crown three times and clocked up 56 wins, with just five losses, in his professional career. The boxer, who has an estimated £35million fortune, lives in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Parkinson's patients often suffer shaking, loss of co-ordination and depression as brain nerve cells that control movement deteriorate.

[savafan]

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40726

[Blimpie]

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40726Ooops. Sorry, Sava. I must have missed your thread last week.

[savafan]

Ooops. Sorry, Sava. I must have missed your thread last week.

I was surprised that there wasn't more interest in this story.

[flyer85]

Sad ... way too many shots to the head. I wonder if anyone now thinks those last 4-5 years as a punching bag were worth it.

Even when Ali/Frazier-I happened in the early 70s he was past his prime. Nowhere close to the fighter that had beaten Sonny Liston.

[Blimpie]

I was surprised that there wasn't more interest in this story.I agree when you consider that Ali and his accomplishments absolutely transcend time...

[flyer85]

I agree when you consider that Ali and his accomplishments absolutely transcend time...I don't know about all that but he was the most famous athlete in the world for quite a period of time. He was the king of self-promotion and bombast. Wannabes like Sanders, Rodman, TO and others pale in comparison.

[Blimpie]

The sad thing is, if Ali boxed today--I wouldn't feel the same way about him. Pay per view has ruined the sport from all perspectives except that of the fight promoter.

When I was a kid, Ali fights were the TV event. You planned your entire weekend around them. There was no Plan B (unless Evel was jumping the Snake River Canyon).

[westofyou]

I was surprised that there wasn't more interest in this story.

December 11, 1981 The man's last fight, the next year he's diagnosed.

24 years is a long time ago, plus he's been fading into the background more and more the last 10 years.

[Blimpie]

I don't know about all that but he was the most famous athlete in the world for quite a period of time. He was the king of self-promotion and bombast. Wannabes like Sanders, Rodman, TO and others pale in comparison.What I mean is that if you watch an Ali fight on ESPN Classic from 1973 versus any opponent...it will be far more entertaining to watch than nearly any heavyweight bout shown today.

[flyer85]

December 11, 1981 The man's last fight, the next year he's diagnosed.

24 years is a long time ago, plus he's been fading into the background more and more the last 10 years.His quotes made him more famous than his feet and we haven't heard him from him in close to 20 years. I can imagine life wihout being able to communicate.

[Blimpie]

December 11, 1981 The man's last fight, the next year he's diagnosed.

24 years is a long time ago, plus he's been fading into the background more and more the last 10 years.Yep. When he lit the torch at the Atlanta Olympics, I actually heard several people remark that they were shocked he was still alive (and that was back in 1996).

[flyer85]

What I mean is that if you watch an Ali fight on ESPN Classic from 1973 versus any opponent...it will be far more entertaining to watch than nearly any heavyweight bout shown today.without a doubt. The Ali/Frazier fights were a clash of styles and a battle of fighters with huge hearts(Something a guy like Tyson never knew anything about), that along with the politics of the time is what made them so compelling.

[westofyou]

His quotes made him more famous than his feet and we haven't heard him from him in close to 20 years. I can imagine life wihout being able to communicate.

Quotes?

Nah..... more than that the man was the greatest heavyweight when boxing was at its azimuth. Like Blimpie said, the world stopped when he fought, I remember listening to the Frazier fight on the radio, seeing Norton break his jaw and watching Leon Spinks stake him out.

The sports in the crapper and when that happens the heros tend to fade a bit too.

[flyer85]

Ali was a great heavyweight, there have been others. What made him special was his talent combined with eloquence, bombast and continual self promotion. It made the spotlight burn so intensely. The camera and microphone loved Ali in stark contrast to most famous fighters(examples Liston, Tyson, Frazier, Holmes, Foreman the Younger, etc).

To this day I can still hear

"I am the greatest, of all time".
"I'm a BAAAAD man".

[OldRightHander]

I'm not much of a boxing fan, but I have watched some of the Ali fights on Classic lately and have been tremendously entertained. I watched a couple black and white ones from the 60s the other day. There was just a grace about the way he moved. Boxing today seems almost like brawling, but the way he fought was so poetic it almost made you forget the inherent violence in the sport.

[savafan]

Among my most cherished possessions, along with my autographed photos of Bob Hope and Ray Charles, is an autographed photo of Ali.