Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: 9 die in Kosovo avalanche; child survives

Report: Ali 'may only have months to live'

Close family friend says boxing legend's health deteriorating rapidly

Image: Muhammad AliReuters file
Boxing great Muhammad Ali, who long has suffered from Parkinson's disease, is getting worse, according to his daughter, Laila.

Former heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, 63, "may only have months to live" and is losing his fight against Parkinson's disease, the London Evening Standard reported Friday.

"His condition has worsened. At this point he may only have months to live," the friend told the newspaper.

Added Ali's manager, Howard Bingham, "Laila feels she is losing him."

Laila Ali, the ex-boxer's daughter, told the Los Angeles Times last week, "I feel like the disease is progressing. Different things start happening as you get older. I have noticed a change in him, something that goes along with Parkinson's.

"It's painful for me because I would love to sit down and talk to my dad about the way he used to be when he was my age, when he was in his prime, because we are so much alike. I can't really do that. I can't share a lot of things with him."

Laila Ali, 27, who lives in Los Angeles, is an undefeated professional boxer (21-0 with 18 knockouts) and wants to discuss the sport with the three-time former heavyweight champ, according to The Times.

Slide show
ARMSTRONG
  American Idols
From Armstrong to Ali to Jordan to Woods, view images of the greatest athletes in American history.
"We don't talk about boxing," she told The Times. "He might come to a fight and say, 'You're bad.' But he was never one to talk much about boxing with us. That was not him. And he doesn't talk much these days anyway. It takes him too much energy to talk.

"He has his good days and his bad days. He's taking a lot of different medications. Sometimes, his speech is so slurred, you can't hardly understand him. But he definitely knows what's going on. That's for sure. He sees everything.

"It's his motor skills that Parkinson's affects. So it's like he's trapped inside his body. He can think. He has things he wants to say, but his lips sometimes just don't move to get it out.

INTERACTIVE
JACKIE ROBINSON
Athletes in the struggle
Take a look at athletes from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and their fight for equality.
"He's just taking life easy. He likes doing simple things. He loves to draw, he likes to color, he likes to clip pictures out of magazines. And he likes to do magic tricks. It doesn't take a whole lot to keep him entertained. But his attention span is very short when the subject is something more than that."

"He doesn't feel sorry for himself, so it's hard to feel sorry for him."

© 2011 NBC Sports.com

advertisement
More news
Image: Pekingese Palacegarden Malachy trots in ring at the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York
Reuters
Pekingese favored to be top dog

Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.

NY cable dispute blacks out Knicks, 4 NHL teams

NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''

Image:
AP
Six new breeds will join show at Westminster

Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.

Slide show
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

Slideshow
Boston Celtics v Indiana Pacers
  Who's hot on Twitter?
Check out which of your favorite athletes have the best pages and most followers!

NBCSports.com

Special feature
"American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity" Met Gala - Arrivals
When athletes and celebs get together
A look at the many links between sports and Hollywood stars.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: To match Special Report CAMPAIGN/ROMNEY-OLYMPICS
  Presidential candidates and sports
How do President Obama and his Republican rivals stack up when it comes to their sports backgrounds?