|
Gunnell said in a statement that Ali was in fair condition
but that a brief hospital stay was expected.
Ali, 74, has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for more
than three decades and has kept a low profile in recent years.
His last public appearance was in April at the 'Celebrity Fight
Night' gala in Arizona, a charity that benefits the Muhammad Ali
Parkinson Center.
At the height of his career, Ali was known for his dancing feet
and quick fists and his ability, as he put it, to float like a
butterfly and sting like a bee.
Ali, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, has suffered health problems
in recent years and was admitted to hospital in December 2014
with what was believed to be a mild case of pneumonia.
Doctors later determined he had suffered a severe urinary tract
infection, for which he received further treatment in January
2015.
Nicknamed "The Greatest," he retired from boxing in 1981 with a
56-5 record. Ali's diagnosis of Parkinson's came about three
years after he retired.
Ali, born in Louisville, Kentucky, as Cassius Marcellus Clay
Jr., changed his name in 1964 after his conversion to Islam. He
is married to Yolanda Williams, who knew him when she was a
child in his hometown.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Writing by
Diane Craft; Editing by Ken Ferris and James Dalgleish)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
