He's a lucky man - love, care and money for health care make a difference.

damn he looks good.

does not mean that he "is good".

The Champ has been battling Parkinson's disease for 40 years now.

Just because you cannot see the symptoms in the photo doesn't mean he is ok.

Hey, happynewyear: chill out. Allow us to pay a compliment.

Really? Since 1972? Any chance you want to correct that inaccurate statement?

>>By the final stages of his career, Ali was slurring words. Not long afterward, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Lieberman said he doesn't believe Ali got Parkinson's because of repeated blows to the head because he doesn't have classic Dementia pugilistica.

Ali is coherent and his thought process is still intact, though the Parkinson's forces him to communicate more with gestures and actions instead of words.

Daughter Maryum believes her father's choice of profession had something to do with his fate.

"In my heart, I think it was a combination of Parkinson's and trauma to the head," she said. "He got hit a lot and he fought for a long time."

More: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2017257069_ali17.html

I believe that he has had Parkinson's for at least 30 years; onset prior to the end of his career it states, hence closing in on 40 years.

might be a good idea. 40 years is inaccurate.

When discussing Muhammad Ali on DU, I ask people to try to be accurate.

In 1972, Ali was not close to approaching the end of his career. Nor had he engaged in any of the bouts that contributed to his medical condition.

The article states that he began slurring his speech in 1982.

How long had he had Parkinson's before this time? One year, two years, five years, or ten years?

We don't know.

It is now 2012. That makes it at least 30 years.

recognize the distinction between 40 and 30 years.

In terms of The Greatest, if one is either unfamiliar with his career, or not able to distinguish in which fights he was subjected to punches to the head, one should ask, rather than bluff. Indeed, in Ali's case, one can identify specific bouts where he took repeated blows to the back of his head -- and those are the punches associated directly to the physical symptoms he now deals with. On the other hand, one can identify the section of the brain that, for example, Smokin' Joe Frazier took, that resulted in specific post-retirement changes in his personality.

This is a topic that I am quite familiar with.

This is the best I've seen him looking for ages.

He used to see young Ali riding his bike back in his Chicago college days

"Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali!"

That picture brought back the chant from ringside, when he fought Frazier the second time. My brother and I have been discussing that experience in detail.

MSG

My brother Mark and I were ringside. We sat with the great welterweight-middleweight champion Emile Griffith. To my right (same row) was Senator Teddy Kennedy & family. George Foreman, the champion, was a few feet away. (He was huge!)

The day before, after the weigh-ins, I jumped on the back of Ali's limo, as it left the Garden. Rode about a block, with Ali shaking his fist at me. So I started telling my friends at school that I had "rode a limo with Ali!" Ha! I was in high school at the time.

(My brother & I are writing a book on our family's experiences in the fight game, not for any big publication, but for our familiy's "younger generation." Mark had been a fixture in Ali's training camp for years, among many, many other things.)

Wayyy cool, my Friend!

"Get off my car, kid!"

LOLOL!

when my brother was in his camp, and his training was open to the general public. He'd pretend that my brother was a "spy" for his opponent's camp, and Angelo Dundee would have to "hold Ali back" from attacking my brother.

The man touched a heck of a lot of people's lives. Drew "Bundini" Brown told my brother lots of stories about Ali's generosity.

You would love it.

I sure want to read the book you're working on with your brother.

training at the Washington Ave. gym in Pleasantville. One afternoon after school (freshman year) we walked by the gym and decided to go in and see if we could watch JJ doing some sparring. Well, many boxers were sparring and a lot of yelling was going on, we walked in and the place shut down like a hush I had never heard before. Some guy came running over and asked what we wanted, we told him. He put his head down, hand over mouth, to keep from laughing out loud I'm sure. He very nicely escorted us toward the door and said this was no place for young ladies and whether JJ was there or not we had to leave. As we were leaving we could hear the shouting and laughter follow us out the door. Many years after that I was working for the NJTurnpike Authority in New Brunswick with a great guy, Ernie Durando, once a boxer himself from Bayonne. I told him this story and he thought it was hilarious.

had periods, in his long career, when he couldn't get fights. In those times, he worked for my Grandfather's construction company -- a common "day job" for boxers back then. He was an extraordinary fighter, both in terms of physical and mental gifts. I'm sure you know that "Cassius Clay"/ Muhammad Ali "borrowed" some of his footwork, most notable, the "Ali Shuffle."

playing Jake LaMotta .... Tough game.

had a bag of tricks that many, many fighters "borrowed" from. I picked up more than a few myself, from watching old films of his fights, over and over.

Today, of course, Jersey Joe would be a cruiserweight. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he never got a shot at the title until he was well past his prime. By then Joe Louis held the title, and Jersey Joe joked about the frustrations of waiting for a younger man "get old." JJ did beat Louis in their first fight, which even Louis recognized; the judges scored for Louis, though. (And no one did well in rematched with Louis.)

If he was somehow transported to more recent times, JJ would probably have been about the same level as Roy Jones. I think Walcott would have KOed Jones.

I hate to see the little kid with gloves on. Like football, boxing is a "sport" that levels real damage on many who engage in it.

Sorry.

It's an ironic picture given what boxing did to Ali's brain.

Howard Cosell had the same condition that The Champ does. Neither boxed. While it is evident that the punches Ali took had an impact on the severity of his problems, it alone is not the only factor.

Ali's mind is still perfectly clear. He is intelligent, thoughtful, and never feels sorry for himself. He remains a powerful role model for many, many people.

Moreover, boxing causes brain injury, and no one should be encouraged to go into it.

Boxing can indeed cause physical injury. So can driving a car (or being a passenger).

Everyone should -- at very least -- be encouraged to box. I believe it should be required for citizenship/voting/buying groceries.

Thanks for those great video links

herself.

He was way more than a great boxer

but in a bigger league than her son, so far.

and I think his daughter included would have been wonderful. I hope for a few more ads that include the female that made the original ad possible in the first place.

Last edited Sat Jun 16, 2012, 07:30 PM - Edit history (1)

who looks a lot like him.

loved him when he was Cassius, too