Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been taken to hospital after falling unconscious at home just days after his frail appearance at a funeral for Joe Frazier.
A spokesman for Muhammad Ali said he was only hospitalized for treatment of dehydration and that “early reports were blown out of proportion”.
Muhammad Ali, 69, was last seen in public at a Philadelphia service for his fellow boxing legend on November 14, but a woman called 911 for him five days later.
The 911 call came from the 6,000 sq ft estate Muhammad Ali shares with wife Yolanda in Paradise Valley, Arizona, reported Star magazine and RadarOnline.
The boxing legend has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for 27 years and was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center.
A Paradise Valley Police spokesman told Star:
“The victim started to pass out in the car and when they got him into the house he fell unconscious.”
“The 911 tape was filled with details of prescriptions and medical details about the victim who was suffering from an on-going medical condition.”
Spokesman Craig Bankey said in statement Muhammad Ali was resting at his home and recovering from the hospital stay.
Muhammad Ali spent the Thanksgiving weekend across the other side of the U.S. in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his family, reported Star.
A source close to former boxer told Star he has had various medical specialists in Phoenix so the family must have “really been scared” to have called 911.
Fears were raised about Muhammad Ali’s health after he appeared very frail at Joe Frazier’s two-hour service at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last month.
According to RadarOnline, friends fear that Muhammad Ali may not live long into next year.
Reverend Jesse Jackson asked mourners to rise and clap for the former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, who handed Muhammad Ali his first loss in 1971.
A weak and trembling Muhammad Ali, wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, rose from his seat at the service and energetically applauded his rival “Smokin’ Joe”.
Muhammad Ali’s relatives and friends have told Star he may only have months left to live, but still enjoys spending time with his grandchildren.
However, Jeanie Kahnke, a spokeswoman for the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, says she spoke with his wife, Lonnie, by phone Friday morning and that “he was right next to her asking for breakfast and that he was doing good”.
Widely-seen as the best sportsman of all time, Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, and won an Olympic gold in 1960.
Muhammad Ali married his fourth wife and childhood friend Yolanda in 1986 and they have had one son, Asaad. In total, Muhammad Ali has seven daughters and two sons.
