If Muhammad Ali Never Developed Parkinson’s….

Muhammad Ali would have ended up as a stepping stone fighter in the 1980's. A real like Mountain Rivera. Is that the kind of legacy you would like for Ali to have? No amount of money is worth your health when you end up lost, drooling all over yourself, staggering around, jumping up every time you hear a bell of any kind. I can tell you first hand that health is way more important than green with deceased president's pictures on them

 

I do, but it is in the Psychology field, I have my college degree in it.

 

I am headed out the door but will get back to you later, we had to study Anatomy also, plus Pharmacology.

 

Here is something to think about. In my opinion Parkinson's helped Ali's legacy. Horrible thing to say but I believe it gives people the sense that he was much better than what he showed in the late 70's because of Parkinson's.

 

Nothing sounded at all wrong with his speech in the early 70s.

 

He'd definitely trained his ass off for Foreman.

 

He did but don't forget he had his mistress (later to become his 3rd wife) hanging around in the background. Larry Holmes who was his sparring partner at the time said Ali really cut it fine maybe 4 weeks out from the George Foreman fight with holding it down with hard serious training. After Foreman incurred a cut which postponed the fight it enabled Ali to make up a bit of extra time to train harder but had Foreman not got cut the outcome could maybe have been different? Ali looked in great shape in alot of the training footage for Foreman but I can't say he worked as hard as he did for the Ken Norton and Joe Frazier rematches this was confirmed by Gene Kilroy who said that in preparation for those fights that is the most conditioned and serious Ali was with training post hiatus.

 

I am back from my final day of the week Dialysis Treatment. Muhammad Ali was one of the bravest heavyweights as Journeyman 92 pointed out. it is correct, Parkinson's Syndrome is in an individuals DNA. A lot of Ali's slurred speech comes from repeated blows to the head, this happened after his return to the ring in 1970 after his 43 month banishment. Many will say that he sparred in that absence from boxing but fighters who spar usually use head gear. Ali's natural gifts eroded as he could not legally participate in actual combat. It appears that Brain Atrophy played a big factor in his deteriorated motor skills which affect speech, that was evidenced in the late 1970's when Ali's speech was slurred. Ali continued to use which was later termed as Rope A Dope on every challenger after winning the title that he never lost in the ring against George Foreman on Oct 30 1974. Repeated blows to the head can cause the brain a loss of Neurons and the connections between them, everyday function are decreased , also a loss of memory. This happened with Jerry and Mike Quarry, as soon as their boxing careers had ended, both had to be cared for by the youngest sibling. Look at Ken Norton following that traffic accident, his speech was odd, so was Joe Frazier's speech, Frazier's style contributed to his punchy like speech. The Parkinson's Syndrome only added to Ali's neurological issues, he had visible tremors.

 

Your post is not insensitive in any way. It is true that Muhammad Ali's affliction with Parkinson's Syndrome did enlarge his legacy, it demonstrated to the boxing public that maybe it was true that he was a much better fighter, but it also taught other athletes in contact sports to take better care of their bodies and the signs associated with a head injury. Ali had gifts and smarts as a fighter he lacked fundamentals but Ali was a phenomena as a heavyweight, adopting a boastfulness about him taken from a page of wrestler Gorgeous George, who was into himself, it brought in a good amount of revenue as people would pay to see him get beat. Ali in his championship years 1964-1967 was untouchable, he was light on his feet, had lightning speed and reflexes, incredible footwork and stamina to move for 15 rounds if need be. As I posted before, the only thing Ali retained on his return to boxing in 1970 was his speed, he did not like to train in the 1970's, his body looked pudgy, he started weighting 221 lbs, maybe good for todays standards but not back then, Ali was 6"3. Everybody has a different frame, in his championship years, Ali usually weighed 212 lbs. Ali brought back with him punching power and experience but the 43 month banishment from 1967-1970 robbed him of timing, reflexes, footwork and stamina, he began to lay on the ropes, he was sadly vulnerable.

 

Unsure what Ali mean't by his jaw being harder after it being wired courtesy of Norton fracturing it.
It is generally accepted that no fracture site is ever stronger post healing than it was before, only time a fracture site can be stronger than the bone either side of it is during healing, as a immobilised bone(s) in a plaster cast can weaken because it is not being used, whereas the healing fracture site is a hive of healing activity laying down new bone, minerals etc, but once plaster cast is off and limb used rest of bone catches up.

No way can i see a healed jaw would be stronger, and what evidence did Ali have to confirm or indeed believe his mandible was harder.

 

I don't know. I don't believe reasonably speaking either but it's just what he said.

 

I can’t remember where I saw this comment. It was something like, “Larry Holmes performed well as an old man because he always fought like an old man.” I think there’s something there. Holmes was always sound fundamentally but he didn’t have a really dynamic style that demanded his reflexes be insanely sharp. He was smart, fast enough, durable, and had a good enough defense to last a long time. He was pretty conservative with his moves.

I can’t see Ali changing his style to ironically, mimic what Holmes did. Like everyone has said, it’s like Roy Jones without all his natural gifts. If Ali was in perfect health and trained better, I can see him maybe squeezing in 1 or 2 more wins but that’s it. I don’t think much changes.

 

I have never seen an Ali sparring session where he actually “spars”. I never get it. I guess he thought he could just turn it on when he needed it?