He fought the disease like he fought an opponent... HEAD ON
MUHAMMAD Ali’s younger brother has told of the torment of watching the boxer struggle with the Parkinson’s that finally claimed his life.
But Rahman Ali said the 74-year-old put up a brave battle even as he deteriorated so badly death was only a matter of time.
He also lifted the lid on growing up with the legendary fighter who vowed at the tender age of 12 that he would one day be world champion.
Rahman said: “Muhammad has fought the disease like he did his opponent… head on.
“He was good in the morning but deteriorated as the day progresses.
“It was tragic to see him like that. He understood what people were saying to him and he tried to communicate but it was very hard. He was trapped inside his head. Only those close to him know what he was trying to say.
“It was heartbreaking to see my brother suffer as he did. As time passed each new day was a waking nightmare. He was trapped in a body so dysfunctional he needed help just to stand up.”
Grieving Rahman, who fears he may also have Parkinson’s, revealed his big brother’s incredible journey to becoming three-times world champion began as a child in Louisville, Kentucky, when their bikes got stolen from outside a gym.
Furious
In a moving interview, Rahman said: “Growing up we used to love riding our bikes. We didn’t go anywhere without them.
“We started at the Colombia Gym not far from our home. I was 10 years old and Muhammad was 12. We had gone to see a talent show and just happened to stumble across the gym. I can still recall the smell today.
“All we heard was the ‘boomf, bang, oooos and ahhhhhs’ coming from it. There was a policeman training all these young lads and we popped our head round the door. It was Joe Martin. He invited us back. We left but little did we know God was just about to take us back there.
“It was God who took us to the gym. It was God who would make Muhammad great.
“Our bicycles got stolen that night. Muhammad was furious. He went straight back to report it to Joe and was so angry he wanted to beat the thieves up. Joe was trying to calm him down and told him to go and punch a few bags.
“He started boxing there and then because he was so angry.
“We never did get the bikes back but it was due to that he became three- times heavyweight champion. If they hadn’t been stolen none of the this would ever have happened. It’s a true story. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Speaking about growing up with Ali in their “black middle-class” home, Rahman, 72, added: “We had a ball.
“It was just happy, happy all the time for us. The house was always full of laughter, particularly with Muhammad around.
“He always had such a huge personality that he inherited from mum and dad.
“My brother was faaaaaantastic. He was kind, sweet, jolly, never a dull moment.
“He was a hell of guy. I am so proud to have been able to call him my brother. Although he belonged to the world, no one else could call him that. He was a blessing to me from God.”
Rahman followed in his brother’s footsteps and became a boxer – and the pair often had their own clashes as kids. He added: “I could fight. We occasionally would fight between ourselves. He’d whoop me sometimes and I’d whoop him. There were good times. They were good days.”
Within weeks of starting to box, Ali was already predicting great things for himself, his proud brother said. He added: “He looked at me one day and said, ‘One day, Rahman, I will shake up the world.’ I never doubted him for a minute. He just knew. At 12 he predicted he would be heavyweight champ of the world.
“He said to me he would be the most famous man on the planet. How would he know that? All the kids in the neighbourhood would laugh at him but he did and proved them all wrong. My brother became the most famous person in the whole world. When he used to say to me he’d be the heavyweight champion of the world, I’d say, ‘Yes and I’m going to be there with you.’
“I love him so much. He wasn’t just the greatest in the ring, he was the greatest out of it.
“Muhammad said he would buy me a house, a car, that he’d take care of me and mum and dad, and he did just that. Everything he ever said he’d do for me he did.
“Everything he did, I saw it all with him. I saw all the hangers on come and go for years, all trying make their money off him. Muhammad would only give them so much though. He had a big heart. There are lot of people who have taken a
He said he would be famous. The most famous man on the planet. How would he know that?
lot of money off Muhammad. All big shots. We had a good life. But to me it was like Heaven travelling with my brother. Paradise. Muhammad would never give me a job when I was with him. He’d say, ‘You’re my brother, that’s all you need to be for me.’ I was just his companion. Back in the day I was his sparing partner but then I was just his brother. Sometimes he would sort me out with a girl. too.” Sadly, Rahman lost touch with his brother after falling out with the star’s wife Lonnie. And as Ali’s condition deteriorated he claimed she stopped blocked contact between the pair. He said: “Whenever I’d called up, Lonnie would just hang up or not answer. He didn’t even know I’d call. We had been so close. I was always very close to his wives but never Lonnie. He has a heart of gold but he is weak to women. It’s his downfall. “It was so bad I stopped ringing. It broke my heart. I wanted to speak to my brother so bad. “I’d have said to him, ‘Champ, I love you with all my heart and soul. You’re the closest person to me on this world. I still love you.”
As we spoke, Rahman, who has been married to his “soul mate” Caroyln for eight years, started showing signs of the Parkinson’s he fears he has.
He said: “I have not been diagnosed with the disease but I may have a touch of it. It’s nervousness. I am a nervous person. God is my good friend. God knows I am happy with my wife and I have happiness.”
Paying tribute to the brother who went on to become The Greatest, Rahman added: “Every minute I had with Muhammad was one long ball. I am 72 years old and I have travelled the world because of him and seen so many wonderful thing. No one can take that away from me.
“He could hardly talk in his final months but I always knew what he was trying say. It was the bind that we had. Two peas in a pod.”