Bush hails frail Ali the brave
IN his prime, the sparkle in his eyes matched his razor wit and dazzling skills in the ring.
Those attributes are a distant memory now – but the courage of Muhammad Ali remains undiminished.
Despite his obvious frailty, the boxing legend made an appearance at a prestigious White House ceremony last night.
Ali had to be helped to walk by two people as he stepped forward to collect the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George Bush. Visibly shaking and strained in front of the cameras, Ali did little to counter recent reports about his declining health.
The 63- year- old has fought a brave but losing battle against Parkinson’s Syndrome for more than 20 years since announcing he had the debilitating illness in 1984.
He retired from boxing in 1981 following a gruelling 61 bouts. He estimated that he took literally millions of blows to his head during that time and it has long been suspected his condition has been exacerbated by boxing.
Yesterday there were reports that he may have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s as early as 1979 but, convinced of his invincibility, fought a further two heavyweight bouts before finally retiring.
Last week a report in the National Enquirer newspaper claimed his daughter, Laila, had told friends that he had become withdrawn and was no longer talking. She apparently feared he only had months to live.