Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali is so ill he could be dead within days, his brother has warned. Rahman Ali said the former heavyweight champion can’t talk and no longer recognizes him. But after getting news of this story the family says Ali is fine…more on that later.
Rahman fears his 71-year-old brother – known as The Greatest – may not survive the summer. He said ‘He’s in a bad way. He’s very sick.
‘It could be months, it could be days. I don’t know if he’ll last the summer. He’s in God’s hands.’
Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984 but remained active for many years and made a moving appearance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games where he lit the flame.
However, he was seen looking particularly thin and frail at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony (seen below) where he was helped across the stage by wife Lonnie. Rahman has accused his sister-in-law, who has been married to Ali for 26 years, of refusing to let the family visit the ailing champion.
Rahman, who was also a professional boxer, said he last saw his brother in July at the Sports for Peace Gala in London and is only allowed to speak to him over the phone. The brothers, born Cassius and Rudolph Clay, grew up together in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rahman Ali, seen below at the Sports for Peace Fundraising Ball in July, where he says he last saw Muhammad Ali. He claims he is being stopped from seeing the legendary boxer Ali’s most recent public health scare was December, 2011, when the champion was taken to hospital after falling unconscious.
However, Ali’s daughter posted the pic below after hearing news that Rahman was spreading rumors Ali is on his death bed.
An image of the iconic former world heavyweight boxing champion emerged in the early hours on Twitter holding his fists in the air and wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey at his family home in Phoenix, Arizona, where he watched the Ravens’ 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers with his wife Lonnie.
His daughter May May Ali said she talked to her father on the phone and he was fine. She said: ‘He’s fine, in fact he was talking well this morning. ‘These rumors pop up every once in a while but there’s nothing to them.’ Thank ya!
In the meantime, Rahman, who has suffered recurrent strokes following his own boxing career, said he feels distraught at being cut from his brother’s life, who he compared to Jesus, and who he says he loves above all others. He said: ‘You know the word “infinite”? That’s Ali, he’s infinite. His name will last forever.’
Father-of-nine Ali wants a Martin Luther King quote on his gravestone, according to Rahman. The quote is: ”I tried to love somebody, I did try to feed the hungry. ‘I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.’ The Greatest.’
Wife Lonnie refused to comment on the claims.
