YourBlackWorld.net
By Nigel Boys
Posted January 6th 2015
Former world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, who is considered to be among the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, has been fighting with his health since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984.
Although he has tried to continue to be an inspiration to athletes of every race since his diagnosis, his health is finally deteriorating at a rapid pace and he feels like he is “a prisoner in his own body,” according to his former manager, Gene Kilroy.
The New York Daily News reports that Kilroy, who became a close friend and business partner to the 73-year-old former champion, otherwise known as the Louisville Lip, said he is fighting the toughest battle of his life.
“It’s hard seeing him as he is today,” said Kilroy. “He can just about walk and his speech is slurred. It takes huge effort for him to make the simplest communication now, but when he does, every word is worthwhile.”
“But even now he has no fear,” Kilroy continued about the Louisville, Kentucky-native, who is the father of nine children and said at one time that he “Floats like a butterfly, but stings like a bee,” in the boxing ring. “He says, ‘I’ll stay here as long as God wants me to. When my time comes I’ll have no regrets. I have achieved a lot.’”
The man born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in 1942, until he converted to Islam and changed his name, even sent a wreath to the unveiling of a statue memorializing his former rival, Joe Frazier, according to Kilroy.
“It said, ‘Joe Frazier, rest in peace until we meet again. But next time we’re not going to fight, we’re just going to hug,’” Kilroy continued, according to the Mirror Online. “It was a beautiful message. After the ceremony Joe’s widow Margaret and I went out to the graveside. We put that wreath there and Margaret cried like a baby.”
Ali and Frazier fought three times between 1971 and 1975, with each match being more violent and more of a grudge than the one before it, according to the longtime friend and manager, who met “The Greatest” at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Frazier died of liver cancer four years ago.
After being rushed to the hospital with pneumonia in December of 2014, Ali was again readmitted for a few weeks this year when he was found unresponsive in his bed. He reportedly suffered from a urinary tract infection, the New York Daily News reported at the time.
Beating such boxing greats as Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sonny Liston and British legend, Henry Cooper, the Louisville Lip dominated the golden era of heavyweight boxing.
Ali won 56 of his 61 fights, in such places as London, Zaire, the Philippines, Germany and Puerto Rico, but was diagnosed with Parkinson’s just three years after his final fight.
Labeling him the “gorilla in Manila,” Ali also said that Frazier was an “Uncle Tom,” who kowtowed to the white boxing establishment. Ali even claimed at one time that Frazier was so ugly, that tears ran down the back of his head.
During their final fight in the Philippines in October 1975, labeled the “Thrilla in Manila,” Frazier’s camp had to throw in the towel in the 14th round, because the pair had bludgeoned each other to such an extent that he could not see to hit back.
“It was terrible. They stood there pummeling each other like gladiators fighting to the death,” Kilroy recalled. “I sat in Ali’s corner and said they should abolish boxing.”
In a new documentary, that made its debute on Quest on Friday, November 6th at 9 p.m., entitled “I Am Ali,” his daughter, Hannah, reveals how her father broke down in tears when he realized Frazier’s children were being bullied at school after what he said about him.
Kilroy states in the documentary that Ali didn’t hate Frazier. In fact, he had a lot of respect for his opponent and was so sad when he went to his funeral. “Ali didn’t hate Joe, he didn’t hate anyone,” Kilroy continued. “He just loved playing for the cameras.”
“Ali was a champion in and out of the ring. He was more than just a fighter. He was king of the world.” Kilroy continued. “Everyone who met Ali loved him and every man who fought against him became a better fighter as a result.”