"I hated every minute of training, but I said to myself, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."
(Muhammad Ali)
Muhammad Ali always said that he was the greatest there ever was, but the greatest battle that he has ever had to fight is learning to live with Parkinson’s disease.
Muhammad Ali was born on January 17th 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was born as Cassius Clay. Later on as an adult he became a Muslim, joined the Nation of Islam in 1964 and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He was introduced to boxing when he was 12, and he won the Olympic Gold Medal before he became a professional boxer. Before his boxing matches, he had a habit of predicting which round he would defeat his opponent. He also was famous for writing and reciting poetry about himself. This helped him build a big reputation.
Muhammad Ali has one of the greatest boxing records in the world with a record of 100 wins and five losses. Muhammad Ali was a great fighter who was well known for winning three heavyweight championships. This is an award which is awarded to someone who has beaten the number one ranked boxer in the world. Very few boxers have won the Heavyweight Championship of the World even once, let alone being able to win it three times. This shows that Muhammad Ali truly was a great fighter.
Muhammad Ali was a highly trained athlete, who many people called the greatest fighter of all time. Even though he was a fit and highly trained athlete, he became sick, and in 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This is a disease which attacks the nervous system and damages a person’s ability to control his muscles including damaging the ability to speak. He also has a brain injury which most people think comes from getting too many blows to the head. The first sign that indicates whether or not you have the disease is when you start to have tremors, or uncontrollable shaking in your body. Muhammad Ali has reached a point that he is now unable to speak. While some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be treated, for Ali's symptoms and for other people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, there isn't any cure. Since Ali also has brain damage, it is likely that this disease will lead eventually to his death.
Right now Muhammad Ali is going through the toughest battle that he will ever encounter, Parkinson's disease. Many people have called him the greatest boxer there ever was, but now he is going through the hardest fight of his life. Parkinson’s disease has no cure so he will have to live with this disease every day for the rest of his life. Even though he may die from this incurable disease, fighting for the best possible life he can lead is a struggle worth fighting for. Even though he may not win, he will still be a winner and still be the greatest.
Muhammad Ali, a boxing legend who was known as the Greatest, is an inspiration to millions of people all over the world not just for being a great fighter in the ring but also as a fighter trying to live as best he can with Parkinson’s disease.
