Laila Ali talks about her father Muhammad Ali’s battle with Parkinson’s disease

January 17 marked 83 years since the birth of a man who is so often referred to as “The Greatest of All Time.”

Muhammad Ali was not only a once in a lifetime fighter, but also a man who did more for the world and its people than anyone can ever thank him for. From the Thrilla in Manilla with Joe Frazier to his Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman, wherever the great man went, people followed. This was not just because of his dazzling speed and flashy style, Ali was a voice for those who could not be heard.

While fighting for human rights and racial equality, Ali also had battles of his own. The three-time heavyweight champion was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease aged 42, a condition that attacks nerve cells in the brain causing slurred speech and limited movement – symptoms that were increasingly apparent as Ali grew older. Ali’s daughter, Laila, spoke to Andre Ward about her father’s battles with Parkinson’s on All The Smoke Fight.

“As long as I can remember, I can remember my father slurring his speech slightly,” Ali told Ward. “I kind of knew him that way and I think it got worse as time went on. Maybe by the time I was 11 or 12 I started to notice tremors in his hands. Then it was like, ‘Oh he has Parkinson’s syndrome,’ they would say. Then it turned into he had Parkinson’s disease. We didn’t really know at the time but then it started getting worse and worse.”

Muhammad Ali walked away from the sport aged 39 after defeat to Trevor Berbick.

“My Dad always joked about coming back,” she said. “Serious conversations I wouldn’t have been involved in because I was too young. But there was never a time I thought he was seriously going to come back once he retired. I was too young even when he fought Larry Holmes and went through all that, and stayed in the ring longer than he should have. He used to always say, ‘I’m gonna make a comeback.’ He was saying that when he was in his 60s.”

Muhammad Ali would so often display his skill and toughness by sparring fighters in the gym for 15 rounds. He would laugh and taunt his opponents as the punches bounced off his head, but his daughter feels that may have played a part in Ali suffering from Parkinson’s later in life.

“Absolutely [it had an effect],” she said. “And him being a heavyweight; you’re getting hit a lot harder, it’s a lot more of a beating. It’s all relative, all of us are getting hit in the head, whether it’s with headgear or not, you’re getting damage done. Whether you don’t know you’re getting concussions or not? It’s happening. That’s the sport that we’re in. That is the sport that we chose.

“There are definitely safer ways to train. When I was training with Roger Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Snr, Buddy MvGirt, they were all more old school. I remember coming to the gym and he was like, ‘No, you can’t have any water.’ Why? I’m a woman, women are different, we’re going to ask questions. I’m real different, I’m going to get some water. You’ve got to stay hydrated, why not be able to stay hydrated?

“There’s a lot of things that people think are old school and tough that can be detrimental,” she continued. “Like sparring without headgear, sometimes I see these girls in the ring [standing] taking bodyshots [freely]. I saw one, I messaged her saying, ‘You shouldn’t do that. Do you want to have children? You shouldn’t have your male trainer just hitting you in the body.’ She said she had never thought about that. She had no cup on. There’s just things people don’t think about. You need to preserve yourself. You’re not going to be young forever and be able to take that forever. You need to take as little of a beating as possible.”

After a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s, Muhammad Ali passed away on June 3, 2016, aged 74. The world mourned the loss of an icon not just in the ring but outside it, too. While Laila also mourned the loss of her father, she had prepared to emotionally deal with his passing.

“I was prepared because I watched my father struggle for so many years,” Ali said. “Parkinson’s will take away your motor skills. You can’t talk, can’t eat by yourself, not use the bathroom by yourself. So, I more felt like he was free. When he passed away he was free to be himself again, in heaven – wherever that may be. Of course, we’re all going to miss him, we’re all going to be sad, but I felt like he was going to be in a happier place.”

Ali’s funeral was held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The service was a celebration of life that brought together dignitaries, celebrities, and journalists from around the world. Over 14,000 people attended and Laila revealed that Ali had planned it all.

“It was expected that my father would get that love, and he expected it,” she said. “Before he passed away he was like, ‘Look, we got to have the funeral at a place big enough for all the people that want to come.’ He wanted to make sure. There was a book this thick of it planned. It needed to be like an arena. He was like, ‘Everyone is going to want to come, so we need space.’ They still couldn’t fit. Oh he was a funny man.”