Muhammad Ali, the boxing great known for his fast talk as well as his fast hands, can hardly speak today because he's in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, his younger brother said this week.
Ali, the now-72-year-old former world heavyweight champion, was even too ill to attend the premiere of the documentary "I Am Ali" in
Hollywood over weekend, according to The Guardian. Rahman Ali told reporters that his brother had signed off on the documentary and hopes people will enjoy it.
"I have not been able to talk to my brother about this because he is sick," Rahman Ali told the Sunday People, according to The Guardian. "He doesn't speak too well. But he is proud that we are here for him. He has given this film his blessing."
The Los Angeles Times wrote that, while numerous documentaries and movies have been made on Ali's life, the new movie is based on unheard audio recordings between the boxer and his children as he prepared for some of the biggest challenges of his life.
"Brit Clare Lewins' documentary 'I Am Ali' is one more yep-he-was-the-Greatest rundown, in which confidantes and loved ones, opponents and supporters, tell their favorite stories about his mesmerizing bouts, poetic taunts, high-wattage personality, and principled fight not to go to Vietnam," the Times' Robert Abele wrote, adding that the film doesn’t show much of Ali's later years or battle with Parkinson's.
"Lewins seems convinced, though, that as an alluring placeholder, fans will be satisfied with never-before-heard tape recordings — made by Ali himself — of hilariously philosophical phone conversations with his then-grade-school-age daughters," Abele continued. "They're cute, all right, and help flesh out somewhat the family-man part of the story, but in repeatedly going back to them, Lewins undercuts the rhythm of weaving archival footage, interviews and biography."
Maryum Ali, 46, one of the boxer's daughters who
attended the screening, told The Telegraph that she believes her father would be pleased with the final product.
"He has not seen the film yet, but I am very excited for him to see it," she said. "He is going to love it. I know he is. He is going to cry, he is going to laugh. He will be very proud."
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