Ali once calculated he had taken 29,000 punches to the head and made $57 million in his pro career, but the effect of the punches lingered long after most of the money was gone.
He later embarked on a second career as a missionary for Islam.
"Boxing was my field mission, the first part of my life," he said in 1990, adding with typical braggadocio, "I will be the greatest evangelist ever."
Ali couldn't fulfill that goal because Parkinson's robbed him of his speech. It took such a toll on his body that the sight of him in his later years -- trembling, his face frozen, the man who invented the Ali Shuffle now barely able to walk -- shocked and saddened those who remembered him in his prime.
His condition and story has done a lot to propel safety rules for boxing. When I heard yesterday he had been taken to the hospital, I just knew it was the end.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
His condition and story has done a lot to propel safety rules for boxing. When I heard yesterday he had been taken to the hospital, I just knew it was the end.
End of an era. He was in pretty bad shape for awhile. I remember seeing him on DWTS when he came to watch his daughter dance. I'm not sure he was all there then.
End of an era. He was in pretty bad shape for awhile. I remember seeing him on DWTS when he came to watch his daughter dance. I'm not sure he was all there then.
mentally, he probably was. One of the cruelest parts of Parkinson's is that your mind is fine, but your body isn't. It's like you're trapped. That's how I remember my BIL describing his grandfather. He said you could look into his eyes and tell he was in there and couldn't get out.
That man was a magnificent fighter. He was beautiful on his feet.
Loved watching him.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
