Muhammad Ali Took Punches That Would Brought Down Walls of JerichoIn November of 1970 Muhammad Ali fought Jerry Quarry in Atlanta. Ali's victory was a symbol of release and freedom to the 5,000 people watching the fight. Muhammad Ali had personally survived his defamation by much of the American public, but more than that, Ali had reclaimed his professional pride, reputation and prominence. Four months later Muhammad Ali had the world as his audience when he went up against Joe Frazier in New York. There Ali fell from invincibility; suddenly Joe Frazier reigned as the World Heavyweight Champion. Frazier said: "Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city," Muhammad Ali responded, "It was like death. Closest thing to dyin' that I know of." Muhammad Ali regained his title as World Heavyweight Champion in 1974 after defeating George Foreman in a bout staged in Zaire. Muhammad Ali fought Frazier twice more, once in 1974 and again in 1975. Muhammad Ali won both matches and secured his title. Taking time to reflect on the clamour of his many years boxing career. In 1975 Ali co-wrote his autobiography characteristically entitled "The Greatest - My Own Story." Pugilistic Parkinsonism, Brought On By Repetitive Trauma To The HeadIn 1982 Dr. Dennis Cope, director of the Medical Ambulatory Care Centre at the University of California, Los Angeles, began treating Ali for Parkinson's syndrome; Cope and colleague Dr. Stanley Fahn later theorised in the Chicago Tribune that Muhammad Ali was suffering, more precisely, from Pugilistic Parkinsonism, brought on by repetitive trauma to the head and that only an autopsy could confirm their suspicions. After losing a 1980 after challenging Larry Holmes for his title and lost, Muhammad Ali had exhibited sluggishness and was mis-diagnosed as having a thyroid condition. Ali was given a thyroid hormone. When Dr. Cope made the connection between Muhammad Ali's decreasing motor skills and Parkinson's disease, he prescribed S inemet "L-dopa." Muhammad Ali would be restored to his previous level of energy and awareness; so long as he took his medication regularly, he will be able to keep the disease in check. In 1988 Muhammad Ali told New York Times Magazine contributor Peter Tauber: "I've got Parkinson's syndrome. They Thought I Was Superman: "Now They Can Say 'He's Human, Like Us"Im in no pain.... If I was in perfect health if I had won my last two fights -if I had no problem, people would be afraid of me. Now they feel sorry for me. They thought I was Superman. Now they can say 'He's human, like us, he has problems." In 1984 another of Muhammad Ali's medical confidantes, Dr. Martin D. Ecker, ventured in the Boston Globe that Ali should have quit boxing long before he finally did for the second and final time in 1981 after losing to Trevor Berbick. Ali's bout with Berbick was his 61st and final fight beaten by a fighter who had passed his sell by date, a man who would not have stood up to Ali in his prime. But by then Muhammad Ali had been showing signs of neurological damage for over a year and should not have been allowed to go in the ring with Trevor Berbick, it was a sad ending to a great boxer's career. The match with Trevor Berbick brought down the final curtains for the Muhammad Ali Show. Muhammad Ali's former doctor, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, told the fighter to quit in 1977 when he first saw signs of Ali's reflexes slowing down. Seven years later, Pacheco, a consultant and boxing commentator for NBC-TV, explained to Betsy Lehman in the Boston Globe why he feels Muhammad Ali didn't quit boxing in 1977. "The most virulent infection in the human race is the standing ovation. Once you've seen that, you can't get off the stage. Once you feel that recognition, the roar of 50,000 people, you just don't want to give it up." In 1979. Muhammad Ali Was Paid A Sum Of $250,000 To Quit The RingWhen Muhammad Ali finally surrendered his title in 1979, he was paid a sum of $250,000 to quit, but he eventually returned to his sport, perhaps as Pacheco suggested, because the recognition had become habit forming. Towards the end of Muhammad Ali's boxing career, and afterward, his ambitions took a resolute turn towards statesmanship. Ali cast his lot with the Democratic Party, supporting then Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in 1980. August of that same year, while in intense training for the Holmes fight, Ali found time to work the floor of the Democratic National Convention in New York City. He also functioned as something of a diplomat in February of 1985 when attempting to secure release of four kidnapped USA citizens in Lebanon; unfortunately, Ali and his three advisers were unsuccessful in their plight. During his career in the ring Ali made more than $50 million, of which two thirds of the sum total went on managerial expenses and taxes. |
