Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, 74, is being treated for respiratory problem as some reports say his condition is more serious than previous stays and family should ‘prepared for the worst.’
The Associated Press reported that the hospitalization was more serious than Ali’s previous hospital stays, though this could not be confirmed.
Ali, considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time and whose gift of gab rivaled his jab, is in fair condition at an undisclosed hospital, said Bob Gunnell, Ali’s spokesman. Ali, who has suffered from Parkinson’s disease since the 1980s, is no stranger to hospital stays, but the Associated Press reports that people familiar with his condition say he may be battling more serious problems. He’s been hospitalized since Thursday.
On Thursday, Bob Gunnell, said Ali was in “fair condition” while under the care of doctors in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.
“He is being treated by his team of doctors and is in fair condition,” Gunnell said. “A brief hospital stay is expected. At this time, the Muhammad Ali family respectfully requests privacy.”
His children have rushed to be at his bedside as doctors treating the former heavyweight champ have told them they fear he “is near the end”.
Already four of his nine children, including daughters Laila, Hana and Maryum, are at the hospital in the Phoenix area where medics continue to fight a breathing problem picked up by the star.
The children flew in last night from around the US as doctors said the future survival of the champ was “uncertain”.
Confirming his daughters had flown to be with him, Ali’s third wife, Veronica Porche, 60, said Laila, a 38-year-old retired professional boxer and Hana Yasmeen, 40, were with him.
Ali, who retired from boxing in 1981, has had Parkinson’s disease for three decades and has been hospitalized several times in recent years. In early 2015, he was hospitalized for a severe urinary tract infection.
His last public appearance was in April at a gala in Arizona which he attended with his wife, Lonnie.
