Ali’s speech decline

His speech difficulties were plainly evident by the time of the Spinks fights. You can hear it during this interview after the Holmes-Norton fight @ the 1:39:20 mark below:

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Very evident very early

 

Yep read similar- Ali was suffering in a way unnoticeable to himself probably an us but in a game of milliseconds it had to have an effect by the 70s there is a proper chance IMO the he was reduced more then we can measure. Ezzard Charles disease affected the legs first which is problematic for a boxer ain’t it? Started as early as 48.

 

I wonder if a similar thing happed to Benitex because of his latter neurological problems, his drop off was pretty sudden.

 

I’ve no doubt that Ali’s speech declined steadily with that decline later accelerating due to his career in boxing -so I’m not arguing with that.

However, it would be helpful to have control samplings - eg the observed, natural decline in speech rate in healthy adults due to mere ageing.

Hard to believe that the young and non stop talking Ali was only hitting the average for syllables per sec, but then he didn’t use “big” words like say, Cosell, “truculent” gets you 3 syllables in well under 1 second. Well done Howie.

I would guess that I now speak at a slower rate than when I was very young - but I also talked more impulsively and a lot of **** too, lol.

As you mature, you do become more well considered with your words and delivery - which is totally separate and, in fact, the opposite of neurological decline.

But again, that’s not a defence, just some more elaborate treatment of the subject.

 

You think Ezzard Charles condition was due to boxing?

 

I don’t know.

 

It's possible, Benitez was also a bit chinny and that chin in the air doesn't help either.

 

I first noticed a decline in Muhammad's speech in 1979. I thought it was a cold at first. After the Holmes fight it became worse.

 

Yeah, I think there appeared to be some notable decline even between the Holmes and Berbick fights.

To hear Ali speak before the latter fight, it was even harder to believe (than the Holmes fight) that they sanctioned the bout.

IV’d just before the fight, Ali seemed like he was a man on the precipice of a nap - not someone who was about to engage a ranked contender.

 

The source is the 2018 biography "Ali: A Life" by Jonathan Eig.

 

A very sad tale of mental decline.

But how much of Ali's speech slowdown can be attributed to damage from boxing and how much to early signs of Parkinson. Or a mix of both. That is the neverning debate.

Neurologists who treated Muhammad Ali provide evidence for primary Parkinson’s diagnosis
Among observers, questions long swirled about the extent to which Parkinson’s disease versus repeated hits to the head contributed to Muhammad Ali’s progressive tremor and cognitive impairment. Now, three neurologists who provided direct care to the boxing legend describe evidence in a JAMA Neurology viewpoint supporting a primary diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson’s disease over a form of dementia from repetitive head trauma.

In wishes expressed before his death at age 74 in June 2016, Ali declined an autopsy, so there was no post-mortem tissue diagnosis. But in the new article, published Oct. 24, physicians who treated Ali for more than 20 years at Emory University provide clear evidence to support a primary diagnosis of young-onset idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. https://mbi.ufl.edu/2022/10/24/neur...de-evidence-for-primary-parkinsons-diagnosis/

 

Saw Ali`s hand movements display nuerological problems in several of his interviews in the late 70`s and you could see something was wrong with him in the movie "the greatest".

 

I get what you're saying,Pugguy. Also it was between those fights that I first noticed that sort of blank expression that went across Muhammad's face every now and then since being afflicted with Parkinsons.