bill1234 said:
I can't help but like and feel sorry for Ali.
Ali seems like such a nice guy.
He loved doing magic tricks and stuff.
What I thought was funny was when Norton had his terrible car crash in the late 80's, Ali went to visit him and he did magic tricks for him.
Norton said "If he does one more damned magic trick, I am gonna get better just so I can whup him!".
Ali still has a sensee of humor too.
But unfortuneately, he has parkinsons, and probably only has 10 years to live at the most.
Muhummed Ali's now 65 years old. Long before parkinsons the trouble he had was due to having stayed to long boxing.
If you continue to fight and keep taking punches your at risk to suffer some measure of brain deterioration.
Of course, this is why the medical community the Amercian Medical Assoication, for example has called for a ban on boxing.
And the reason the American Neurological Assoication, Amercian Academy of Neurology, British Candian and the Australian Medical Assoication have supported the ban and want to abolish boxing.
The American Medical Assoication had claimed to have conducted a study of boxers in the professional ranks in which revealed that 4 out of 20 boxers have some measure of brain deterioration.
However, I do know that such studies can be and often are manipulated to be able to come to predetermined conclusions, and this happens all the time.
Muhummed ended up a punch drunk (to have some measure of brain deterioration) for reasons of having remained in boxing too long.
But Muhummed isn't alone in being in that condition.
Over the many years I've known some old fighters to have ended up the same way for reasons of having stay too long.
Muhammed took up boxing at 11 or 12 years old, and look how long he stayed there. He stayed there for a very long time.
Sometimes and maybe even often if a guy is really successful as a fighter he starts to believe he's invincible and that can result in a fighter staying too long and pass his prime.
I, personally was not pleased to see Evander Holyfield come back for this reason.
For there is a good chance that he could very well end up punch drunk, if he isn't already to some degree.
Many people believe he has already suffered some measure of brain deterorioration. I'm sure he has he'd stayed too long.
I tool up boxing at age 9, and got out at age 22, and that's much the reason or at least in part as for why I did get out when I did. I didn't would to end up in that condition.
But even in the amatuer ranks the whole time and years I spent there I think was really too long.
However, I especially do support amatuer boxing for youngsters for reasons its a great fitness and confidence builder.
Only, I would not encourage any one to stay even in the amatuer ranks for as many years as I did.
In fact, towards the end, I can remember getting frequent headaches after some inner city touraments fights in which I would be winning all my fights and for reasons of it I was fighting every night until the touranment was over in having finally reached the finals.
Looking back on it now, I'm glad I got out when I did.
Boxing is great!
Its just that you want to get in and get out and not to stay too long.
Of course, today in the amatuer ranks the rules and regulations have changed to reduce the risk of injury, and are now required to wear protective head gear now, and to wear bigger gloves.
But that wasn't so in my time there in the 1960s and 1970s.
I know a number of guys that took up boxing at a very young age as I did, and all of them at least of the ones I know about all spent about the same number of years boxing that I did. Of course, they were good at it or they wouldn't have stayed there for as many years as they did.
JJC