Letter: The real Ali

Friday 19 February 1999 00:02 GMT

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The real Ali

Sir: In the report "Still the greatest" (18 February), Muhammad Ali is described as "heavy-jowled, impassive, silent and serious" in contrast to his jocular character of the Seventies.

Muhammad Ali has Parkinson's disease. This neurological condition is not only characterised by muscle tremor; many people with Parkinson's disease also have reduced facial expression because of muscular rigidity. The person underneath this apparently frozen exterior is often no different from the person he or she was before developing the disease. The real Muhammad Ali may well be the same jocular boxing hero that he was in the Seventies and not the silent, impassive man we see.

SIGRID ROBSON

Speech and Language Therapist

London SE4

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