Muhammed Ali’s daughter tells of champs brave battle against Parkinson’s disease

ALI’S daughter told how he defied Parkinson’s disease with daily workouts at 74.
Maryum Ali, at her dad’s side when he died, revealed he pedalled his exercise bike for 30 minutes on the eve of his birthday in January.

He also spent his last days scoffing bowls of ice cream, watching black-and-white cowboy films non-stop and re-runs of his fights, including Rumble in the Jungle.
Maryum, 47 and the eldest of his nine children, said: “The will he showed to fight the disease was amazing — that same will he had as a young Cassius Clay.

“He did not let that spirit deteriorate with his condition and that is remarkable.
“My dad outlived many of those he trained with and fought against and lived longer than people who had no disease at all. He has lived the lives of one hundred men.”
Maryum said of his home workouts: “He has a gym in his bedroom and the day before his birthday I watched him use this stationary exercise bike for 30 minutes at a very steady pace.
“I could not believe it. I mean, I know people out of shape who can’t stay on a bike for that long.
“I had heard he could do it, but it was the first time I had watched him. It was amazing to see.
“He rode that bike almost every day, which is incredible.”

She also told how the legend relaxed in his leather armchair at home in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
She said: “He loved Westerns. There is a cable channel he watched that has them all day long.
“He also loved to watch documentaries of himself. I would always pop open my computer and he loved the video to the Uptown Funk song.
“I think he likes it because Bruno Mars is kind of bragging, saying, ‘I’m this, I’m that’. Dad loved that because he was like that.
“Then he loved it when his friends and kids sat with him.
“We tried to keep his life filled with love and people who love him.
“He loved vanilla ice-cream and all kinds of sweets.
“They had him on a very healthy diet, so if he wants something sweet here and there, they gave it to him.”

Ali was 42 when diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984. Maryum added: “He is still teaching us, his children and others, motivating us, on how to deal with the disease.”
The legend came close to death when he suffered a urinary tract infection that was misdiagnosed as pneumonia at the start of 2015.
Maryum said: “It was a pretty lengthy recovery. On top of that he caught some infection in the hospital and had to be on antibiotics for a while. But he made it through that, luckily.
“With Parkinson’s your immune system is weak, so it is always a little more dangerous, particularly when you are older.
“It was very taxing on the body but we prayed and he came through, thankfully.” Ali battled back and got in remarkable shape.
Pals say he only stopped using a punch bag to exercise around three years ago.
Maryum added: “Exercise slows the progression of Parkinson’s and his wife (Lonnie) and care team understood that. They tried to give him the best lifestyle possible.
“My dad was an athlete so I am sure he had great muscle memory, but he also had the fight and determination in his soul.”

Ali followed a strict diet that included lots of vegetables.
His family and friends also worked hard to keep him in good health mentally. This included preventing Muslim convert Ali from watching news reports of IS terror attacks.
Biographer Davis Miller said: “Ali was a very emotional person.
“He could be reduced to tears by things he found upsetting on the news so his family had to filter what he watched.”

The legend also refused to bow to depression like so many with Parkinson’s.
Instead he told friends it was a Gift from God that allowed him to be more humble. He once said: “God is showing me and he’s showing you, that I’m just a man like everybody else.”
By the end Ali was virtually bed-ridden due to spinal stenosis.
He communicated by blinking as the thousands of jabs to the jaw and his illness had taken a terrible toll on the legend.

Speaking earlier this year Maryum said: “For years he had difficulty communicating with us.
“All the jabs to the jaw, in addition to the Parkinson’s, limited his speaking.
“He blinks or shakes his head. We have learnt that in handling someone with Parkinson’s, you don’t speak around them like they are not there. You should keep people with Parkinson’s engaged in conversation in the present moment of what is being discussed in the room.
“Don’t act like they can’t talk and just talk around them.
“Doing that maintained his dignity as a human and was the key in keeping him uplifted.”
Maryum, now an LA-based social worker, added yesterday: “Despite being locked in this disease he always kept up his spirits.
“That spirit is still a fighting spirit. He loves life and he has always been at peace with himself.
“He is not a pretentious person and I think that is why people love him so much. Yes he has gone through many changes, but he has always remained true to who he really was at any given time.”

The icon and his second wife Belinda Boyd converted to Islam soon after their August 1967 wedding. Maryum was born a year later and raised in Chicago.
The couple went on to have twins Jamillah and Rasheda in 1970 and son Muhammad Ali Jr in 1972.
He was stripped of his heavyweight title in 1967 for refusing to fight with the US army in Vietnam. By then he had also dropped his birth name.
Maryum said: “I was born at the time he was not allowed to box. So when I began to learn how to walk and talk and understand things he was already Muhammad Ali.

“I’ve had to share him with the world and understand why.
“It was uplifting and I took pride in who he was, but at times it got rough having to share him.
“He was such a people person and had to travel so much, but when I understood how people were impacted by him in a way that elevated their lives, I thought that was an OK trade-off, having to share my dad to help people.
“My father made sure he spent quality time with us even though he was busy.

“He made family very important. I felt like it was a blessing and honour to have him as my dad. There are a lot of people who do things for the bottom line, for their brand and the money.
“My thing is, how much money do you need? You have $200million in the bank, how much do you need before you start standing up for some social issues?
“A lot of celebrities’ lifestyles are so extravagant. My father was never like that. Yes, he had nice things, but he gave away a lot too.
“He wanted to stand for something, knowing he would leave this earth having made a positive impact on people. You just don’t find people like that anymore.”

Lifetime of a legend

JANUARY 17, 1942: Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, in Louisville, Kentucky.
SEPTEMBER 5, 1960: Beats Pole Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to win Olympic gold in Rome.
OCTOBER 29, 1960: Pro debut, beats Tunney Hunsaker.
JUNE 18, 1963: Stops Brit Henry Cooper at Wembley Stadium, London.
FEBRUARY 24, 1964: Wins world heavyweight title, beating champion Sonny Liston.
FEBRUARY 26, 1964: Joins Nation of Islam and rejects “slave name” Cassius Clay.
MARCH 6, 1964: Adopts “holy” name Muhammad Ali.
1964: Marries Sonji Roi.
MAY 21, 1966: Wins second fight with Henry Cooper.
1966: Divorces Sonji Roi.
APRIL 28, 1967: Refuses to be drafted to fight in Vietnam War, on religious grounds. Stripped of world title and has boxing licence suspended. Appeals five-year jail term.

1967: Marries Belinda Boyd. They have four kids.
JANUARY 27, 1970: Licence to box restored but appeal against conviction continues.
OCTOBER 26, 1970: Beats Jerry Quarry in three rounds.
MARCH 8, 1971: “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden, against then-world champ Joe Frazier. First defeat as a professional.
JULY 28, 1971: Supreme Court overturns conviction.
1972: Ali has a daughter, Miya Ali, after an affair.
MARCH 31, 1973: Second defeat, this time by Ken Norton, who breaks his jaw.
JANUARY 28, 1974: Beats Frazier on points in rematch at Madison Square Garden.
OCTOBER 30, 1974: Beats George Foreman by a knockout in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire.
1974: Has daughter, Khaliah Ali, after another affair.
OCTOBER 1, 1975: Beats Frazier in “Thrilla in Manila”.
1976: Divorces Belinda Boyd.

1977: Marries Veronica Porsche Ali. They have two kids including Laila Ali, who follows dad into the ring.
OCTOBER 2, 1980: Loses fight against Larry Holmes.
DECEMBER 11, 1981: Loses final fight to Trevor Berbick and retires aged 39.
1986: Divorces Veronica, weds fourth wife Yolanda Williams.
1984: Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
JULY 19, 1996: Lights flame at Atlanta Olympics, US.
NOVEMBER 9, 2005: Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom, highest honour available to US civilians.
JULY 28, 2012: Helps escort Olympic flag to East London.
APRIL 9, 2016: Last known public appearance at fight night Parkinson’s fundraiser.
JUNE 3, 2016: Dies in Phoenix, Arizona.

50 years at Olympics

ALI famously made a string of dramatic Olympic appearances over a period of more than 50 years.
Before turning pro and aged just 18, he won gold at the 1960 Games in Rome by beating Pole Zbigniew Pietrzykowski.
But Ali later said he threw the medal into the Ohio River after he and a pal were refused entry to a “whites only” restaurant.

In an emotional opening ceremony at Atlanta 1996, he struggled to control his violently shaking left arm to light the Olympic torch.
The image of him holding it aloft became iconic and at the end of the Games he was awarded a replica of his lost 1960 medal.

Ali was also there for London 2012. In a special appearance at the opening ceremony, he starred as the bearer of the Olympic flag.
He was extremely frail but won a rapturous reception from the 80,000-strong crowd.