UPDATE (6:40 PM):
Los Angeles Times reporter Lance Pugmire is reporting that Ali's situation is "very, very grave."
See original story below.
On Thursday, a spokesman for Muhammad Ali’s family released a statement indicating that the boxing legend has been hospitalized in Phoenix, Ariz., where he currently lives, with a respiratory issue. You can read the short statement from family spokesman Bob Gunnell here:
The statement made it sound like the 74-year-old’s hospitalization would be relatively routine, but the Associated Pressspoke with two sources close to Ali on Thursday night who indicated that the respiratory issue Ali is dealing with could be complicated by the fact that he suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Those sources did not provide details on Ali’s condition, but they did tell the AP that Ali—who has been hospitalized on several occasions in the past, most recently in 2015 when he was treated for a severe urinary tract infection that was misdiagnosed as pneumonia at first—could be facing more “serious problems” that originally reported.
When contacted by the AP on Friday morning, Gunnell said that there was no change in Ali’s condition. A representative for Ali's daughter Laila issued a short statement on Friday afternoon. "Laila's number one priority is her father's well-being," Laila's rep told ET. "She truly appreciates the outpouring of love for her family, as she spends quality time with her dad."
Laila also shared this photo on Facebook:
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