Muhammad Ali's 32-year battle with Parkinson’s syndrome has led to calls from a brain expert for retired fighters to receive proper help, writes Tom Hopkinson in the Sunday People .
Ali’s emotional funeral took place on Friday, following his death last weekend, aged 74.
He was officially diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease in 1984, three years after he retired from boxing.
Three-time world heavyweight champion Ali was involved in more than 20 world title fights and boxed 548 rounds in a 21-year professional career that spanned 61 bouts.
His use of ‘rope-a-dope’ tactics – where he would lean on the ropes and absorb punishment, as he famously did against George Foreman in their iconic 1974 fight – saw him take a lot of head punches in the last decade of his professional days.
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He slowed dramatically late in his career and was a sad imitation of himself in fights against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick.
Parkinson’s syndrome then left Ali with slowed and slurred speech, as well as terrible tremors.
And, according to Boston University neurosurgeon Dr Robert Cantu, there is an “inescapable inevitability for many boxers”.
He says they will be affected by the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repetitive blows to the head.
Symptoms of CTE include forgetfulness, slurred speech, dementia, mood swings, depression, bipolar disorder and Parkinson’s.
In new book A Champion’s Last Fight, The Struggle With Life After Boxing , Dr Cantu says: “We believe Ali’s Parkinson’s is a result of CTE and boxing-related head injuries.
“There is an inescapable inevitability for many boxers – whether world champions or journeyman – that they will be affected by CTE.
“There are many former champions who developed dementia and their brains were not studied, but they had CTE symptoms.
“We have studied, in our brain bank, 150 cases. Eleven out of 11 brains of former boxers have all had CTE and 86 out of 89 NFL players we have studied have had CTE.
“CTE is a much bigger problem than people understand - especially in boxing. It’s tragic that they, as a group of athletes, don’t have a group representing them, they don’t have a pension plan.”
Scotland’s Ken Buchanan, the world lightweight champion from 1970 to 1972, has had to deal with financial blows, a sexual assault, alcoholism and dementia since retiring from boxing.
And in the book he adds: “My dementia is definitely caused by boxing.
“It’s too many punches to the head that does it and it doesn’t matter how good a boxer you are, you end up with dementia.
“I keep a notebook with me at all times now to help me remember things.”
Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton wishes there was an organisation for ex-boxers like there is for football, cricket and rugby.
He said: “Sometimes you need advice after boxing.
"As soon as there’s a boxers’ association, like they have in football, the better.”
