- 13 hours ago
On June 3, 2016 Muhammed Ali died after a long battle with Parkinson's.
#autopsy #boxing #tv #mohammad ali #sports
#autopsy #boxing #tv #mohammad ali #sports
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00We've just learned some very sad news.
00:02The passing of an American icon, Muhammad Ali,
00:05the larger-than-life boxing legend, has died at the age of 74.
00:13Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers the world has ever known.
00:17Over a career spanning 21 years,
00:20he became the heavyweight champion of the world an incredible three times.
00:24He is possibly the most important sportsman in the history of America.
00:30He became the most beautiful fighting machine ever assembled.
00:34I've wrestled with alligators.
00:36I've tussled with the whale.
00:38I done handcuffed lightning and put thunder in jail.
00:42Ali's beauty, charisma, and ego
00:44made him an adored figure the world over.
00:48He cared about what happened in the ring and outside the ring.
00:51Money means nothing to me, nor boxing,
00:54when it comes to the freedom of your people.
00:56But some believe Muhammad Ali fought for too long
00:59towards the end of his boxing career.
01:01The physical decline was obvious, and he had started slurring.
01:05I said to Ali, you're going to be a vegetable.
01:10Muhammad Ali died on June 3rd, 2016, at the age of 74,
01:15after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
01:18Many blamed Ali's health on his long boxing career.
01:21In the later part of his life, Muhammad Ali developed a form of Parkinson's.
01:26But Parkinson's is not usually fatal, so what killed him?
01:31Did the years of beatings he sustained in the ring play a role,
01:34or was it something else altogether that finally brought about the end
01:38of this once world-class athlete?
01:48Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter has conducted thousands of autopsies.
01:53He's the chief medical examiner in one of America's biggest cities
01:57and investigates suspicious deaths.
02:01I've got access to biographical information, medical reports,
02:05and first-hand accounts that I'll use to examine Muhammad Ali's medical condition.
02:10I'll be looking for evidence as to how Ali's boxing impacted his health during
02:15and after his career.
02:23September 25th, 2014, the Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville, Kentucky.
02:2920 months before Ali's death.
02:33The 72-year-old Muhammad Ali makes an appearance for a Parkinson's fundraiser
02:38in the town where he was raised.
02:40Despite being in the advanced stage of Parkinson's disease, he seems well,
02:44and although he doesn't speak to the crowds, he poses for photos.
02:48Muhammad was always attracting people.
02:50Wherever he went, he couldn't walk down the street without somebody walking up to him,
02:54and he did like it.
02:57Muhammad Ali is married to Lani, his fourth wife.
03:00At 72 years of age, he has nine children
03:03and has been retired from boxing for 33 years.
03:08For millions of fans, he's still the champ.
03:14Muhammad Ali loved being Muhammad Ali until the end.
03:23Muhammad Ali had been living with the progressive neurological condition Parkinson's disease
03:29for over 30 years.
03:31Parkinson's occurs when the part of the brain that produces dopamine begins to die.
03:36Dopamine helps control movement from walking and talking to writing and smiling.
03:41So, as the disease progresses, the ability to control movement becomes less and less.
03:48While Parkinson's disease can cause multiple health problems, it is not usually fatal.
03:53And it appears that Muhammad Ali's Parkinson's disease was well managed.
03:57He looks in pretty good shape for a man of his age.
04:01From accounts, I can see he was reasonably active and very well cared for by his wife, Lonnie.
04:07Way back in a little one-horse town called Louisville, Kentucky.
04:12Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942,
04:18to Cassius Marcellus, Sr. and Odessa Clay.
04:22His father was a commercial artist and sign writer.
04:25His mother was a domestic helper.
04:29Ali grew up in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1940s.
04:35Louisville was segregated.
04:37There were separate schools for black and white.
04:40It was part of the American South.
04:42The highest most blacks could aspire to was perhaps to be a teacher at an all-black public school.
04:50Cassius Clay became a boxer at the age of 12.
04:54Famously, a thief took his bike, and Cassius wanted to beat up the kid who stole it.
05:00Joe Martin, a local cop who ran the boxing gym, suggested he might like to learn how to fight first.
05:05He told me many years later, when I found boxing, the first day in the gym,
05:11it was like God was telling me, this is what you're supposed to do.
05:19In 1954, Cassius won his first amateur fight.
05:23And in 1960, he was selected to represent American boxing at the Olympics.
05:29What separated Cassius from the others at that point in time
05:33was that he had more drive, more determination,
05:38worked harder than any of the other young men in the gym.
05:43Mohammed always said, it's not under the lights that counts,
05:47it's the sweat before you get there.
05:50At the Olympics, Cassius Clay won a gold medal
05:53and proved to be an instant hit with the media.
05:55I'm Cassius, Marcellus Clay the sixth.
05:57There was something about him that just stood out.
06:01He was 18 years old.
06:04He was extraordinarily likable, telegenic.
06:08The camera loved him.
06:10I must be the greatest.
06:11I'm the world.
06:13Just three years later, Cassius Clay became the youngest boxer
06:16to take the heavyweight title from a reigning champion
06:19when he beat the formidable Sonny Liston.
06:22I'm that Sonny Liston and I just turned 22 years old.
06:26I am the king of the world.
06:27Hold it, hold it, hold it.
06:28I've heard it.
06:28Hold it, you're not that great.
06:29I'm a bad man.
06:31I shook up the world.
06:33I shook up the world.
06:37Not only was Cassius causing shockwaves in boxing,
06:41outside the ring, he was challenging mainstream America.
06:44White people are not Joe, brother.
06:46He became a Muslim and joined the religious organization
06:49The Nation of Islam.
06:51It was a political and social awakening.
06:56It was at this point that Cassius Clay changed his name.
07:00He said, I want to have a name of culture.
07:03I want to have a name of respect and dignity.
07:06Cassius Clay is a name no more.
07:08Is that right?
07:09Yes, sir.
07:09It's Muhammad Ali.
07:11Muhammad means worthy of all praises
07:12and Ali means most high.
07:14But Ali's newfound religion brought further conflict
07:18when in 1967 he refused to do military service
07:21during the Vietnam War.
07:23My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother
07:26or some darker people
07:28or some poor hungry people in the mud.
07:31He was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title
07:33and was banned from boxing during what some felt was his prime.
07:37His license to box was suspended for three and a half years.
07:44It deprived the world of what might have been the greatest Muhammad Ali.
07:51At the time of the exile, his performances were extraordinary.
07:56But Ali was eventually pardoned and returned to the ring in 1970
08:01and reclaimed his heavyweight title just four years later.
08:07Like most Muslims, Muhammad Ali didn't drink and he never smoked.
08:12What does surprise me though is that it appears he had an addiction to sugar.
08:18Muhammad did have this one vice and it was ice cream.
08:21He would eat it all day if he could.
08:26One of the bonds that Ali and I had was we each have a sweet tooth.
08:31Ali loved ice cream.
08:33He loved cake.
08:34He loved pie.
08:35I make a very good hot fudge sauce from scratch.
08:39This is cool, man.
08:42Ali ate his portion.
08:44He asked for more, ate the second portion.
08:47Then when he was done, he picked the bowl up and he licked it.
08:54Ali's sweet tooth continued throughout his life.
08:57Famously, he was known to take 11 spoons of sugar in his tea.
09:03High sugar diets are not recommended for people with Parkinson's disease
09:07because sugar tends to act as an inflammatory in the body.
09:12The spikes in insulin can also produce lethargy and fatigue
09:16which exacerbate the symptoms of Parkinson's.
09:19Although this in itself is unlikely to be responsible for his death,
09:24it does paint a picture of someone who doesn't follow advice
09:27even when it's detrimental to their health.
09:31December 20th, 2014.
09:34Muhammad Ali's house, Scottsdale, Arizona.
09:3718 months before his death.
09:39Ali is resting at home with his wife, Lani,
09:42when she realizes that something is wrong.
09:44He's running a fever and appears extremely unwell.
09:47Muhammad passed out at his home
09:50and the emergency crew came and took him to the hospital.
09:53I can see from my notes that doctors diagnose Ali
09:56with a urinary tract infection or a UTI.
10:00The area known as urinary tract includes the bladder,
10:04ureter, urethra, and kidneys.
10:07And an infection occurs when bacteria gets into one of these areas
10:11and multiplies.
10:13They're pretty common, especially among people with Parkinson's,
10:16as the bladder muscle is too weak to expel urine,
10:19making it more susceptible to infection.
10:23UTIs are usually harmless,
10:25but the fact Ali was running a fever
10:28and became unconscious tells me that this was serious.
10:33And it's a sign that it could have spread to the kidneys.
10:37And Dr. Hunter has uncovered evidence
10:40of further kidney problems in his past.
10:42So did Muhammad Ali die of kidney failure?
10:47We know that Parkinson's isn't normally fatal,
10:50so I need to know what else was going on in his body
10:54in the weeks and months before his death.
10:57So far, I've discovered that just over a year
11:01before his death, he was admitted to the hospital
11:03with a severe UTI, which likely spread to his kidneys.
11:08And looking deep into Ali's medical background,
11:11I can see that he suffered from renal problems
11:14as far back as the 1970s.
11:18In September 1977,
11:21Ali defended his world heavyweight title
11:23against Ernie Shavers.
11:32After a bloody 15-round bout,
11:35Ali was declared the winner,
11:37but his face and body took a pounding.
11:40Ernie Shavers is known to be
11:41one of the hardest punchers in boxing.
11:52The fight with Ernie Shavers,
11:53it definitely should have signaled the end of Ali's career
11:57because, as his doctor, Ferdi Pichico, famously said,
12:01he won the fight, but his kidneys lost the decision.
12:05After the fight,
12:06Ali would have undergone a series of medical examinations
12:09conducted by the New York State Athletics Board.
12:12I can see from reports
12:14that a urine test showed traces of blood and kidney tissue.
12:19This tells me that Ali had sustained kidney damage during the fight.
12:24Dr. Frank Guardino of the New York State Athletic Commission,
12:27he said that Ali was so bad
12:29and Ali will never be licensed in New York again.
12:35Kidney damage like this can lead to kidney disease
12:38and is a major cause of cardiovascular problems,
12:41including strokes and an increased risk of cancer.
12:45I can see that Muhammad Ali was tested for kidney function
12:48three years later and was given the all-clear.
12:51However, damage his kidneys received throughout his boxing career
12:55could have left him susceptible to problems later in life.
13:00After the Shavers' fight,
13:01many of those closest to him felt that enough was enough.
13:09I wanted him to stop fighting.
13:12I wanted him to start endorsements or something,
13:16have gems all over the world, something like that.
13:19And yet, Muhammad Ali chose to continue fighting,
13:22whatever the cost.
13:24I said to Ali,
13:26you're going to be a vegetable.
13:28You're not going to be able to walk.
13:30You're not going to be able to stand.
13:32You're not going to be able to do anything.
13:34You're going to be a vegetable.
13:37Success is addictive.
13:38Adoration is addictive.
13:40When your whole identity is bound up
13:43in being the heavyweight champion
13:45and you're being asked to let it go and walk away,
13:47this is retiring from the thing that fed your ego,
13:52that fed your esteem,
13:54that filled your days,
13:56I don't think it's a surprise at all
13:57that he finds it so hard to walk away.
13:59Behind the scenes,
14:01many were begging Muhammad Ali to bow out
14:03because they could see the beginnings
14:05of concerning health problems.
14:08After that fight,
14:09he held his hand.
14:10He said,
14:11I can't stop it from shaking.
14:12And then when he told me this,
14:14I said, whoa,
14:14that's some really serious stuff.
14:20Shaking or tremors is a symptom of Parkinson's,
14:24but it can also be a sign of brain damage.
14:27Traumatic brain injury or TBI is common among boxers.
14:31It's hardly a surprise given that a knockout blow
14:34is by definition a brain injury.
14:37Symptoms of TBI include slurred speech,
14:40reduced agility and coordination,
14:42and tremors.
14:44So I need to investigate whether or not
14:47brain injury was a factor
14:49in Muhammad Ali's death.
14:51In 1969,
14:52Muhammad Ali joked about punch-drunk boxers.
14:55Boxers usually don't talk.
14:57And all they can tell you is
14:58he ran five miles yesterday.
15:00Or a dog, dog, dog, dog,
15:02good left jab.
15:03Or I'm not that type of negro.
15:05But just over a decade later,
15:08I can whoop anything on two legs.
15:10Ali filmed a roach spray commercial.
15:12Now he, too, was slurring.
15:14I mean, roaches.
15:15I don't want you living with roaches.
15:17Wipe them out with decon power.
15:20Decon, more power to you.
15:24Ali's slurring is further evidence of TBI.
15:27It could be physical damage
15:29to the language centers in the brain,
15:31or it could be damage to the nerves
15:33that control the throat and vocal cords.
15:36From the mid-'70s onwards,
15:38friends and family begged Ali
15:40to give up boxing before it was too late.
15:42The people that loved him wanted him to retire
15:45because they didn't want to see him get hurt.
15:47He lost a lot of his skills.
15:50On June 26, 1979,
15:53Muhammad Ali finally agreed to retire.
15:56But it seemed not everyone was happy with the decision,
16:00as his then-wife, Veronica, would witness.
16:03I can remember times
16:04when he had made his mind up not to fight,
16:07and people would actually come around
16:09and try to get him interested in fighting again.
16:13In April 1980, he was finally lured back
16:16and announced he was going to fight Larry Holmes.
16:20Wouldn't you come back and fight for $7 million?
16:23That was really the reason.
16:24It was the money.
16:26Muhammad Ali was now 37.
16:28He was heavy and slow.
16:31To get back into shape,
16:32he embarked on a tough training regime
16:35and asked boxer Tim Witherspoon
16:37to be his sparring partner.
16:39The first time I sparred,
16:41it was easy.
16:43I was expecting him to give me a test.
16:49It was really easy to hit him in his head.
16:52So I said, no, I can't keep doing this.
16:56I would disguise everything.
16:57I would, ah, and make noise.
16:58Ah, ah, you know.
17:00And he would get mad.
17:01He said, what's the matter with you?
17:02Why aren't you, you know, punching me, hitting me?
17:05Is that all you got? Come on.
17:06But I knew something was wrong.
17:07This can't be the champ.
17:11Muhammad Ali's slurring and lack of form
17:13was now a national media story.
17:16In the run-up to the Holmes fight,
17:18Ali was interviewed on NBC
17:19and defended his decision to continue boxing.
17:23They say you're slow and you're fat
17:26and you can't talk.
17:27Brain damage, can't talk.
17:29Do I seem like I can't talk?
17:30Do I act like I got brain damage?
17:32You right here.
17:35The fight was a disaster for Muhammad Ali.
17:38This is a sad Ali, surely.
17:40He can't fight back.
17:41He was sluggish and took a beating.
17:43Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee,
17:45stopped the fight after the 10th round.
17:48And he's right, and he stops the fight.
17:50A humiliating defeat.
17:52It's all over, and Larry Holmes retains the championship.
17:56Muhammad Ali's championship boxing career was over.
17:59However, his medical problems were not.
18:02When Ali began to have physical difficulties,
18:06his initial reaction was denial.
18:09You know, it's not happening to me.
18:12When I stop fighting, I'll feel better.
18:14I'll be fine.
18:16Well, he wasn't fine.
18:17This is somebody who had complete volition over his body
18:20and over, you know, other people's, you know,
18:23through his body.
18:24This is someone that can make things happen.
18:26He trusted his arms and his legs to do, you know,
18:29whatever he wanted.
18:30And all of a sudden, to feel that I'm becoming clumsy,
18:33to feel that, you know, my wrist is something
18:35that I can't control.
18:36It's moving in a weird way.
18:37To feel that even my face is changing,
18:40my pretty face, as he used to say,
18:42would be hugely difficult.
18:48In 1983, concerned by his slurring
18:51and lack of coordination,
18:53Muhammad Ali went to the UCLA Medical Center
18:56for an extensive examination,
18:57That's my brain.
18:58including brain scans.
19:00It's huge.
19:01You can see my intelligence.
19:05I have a report of CT brain scans
19:08conducted at UCLA in 1982,
19:10and it makes for disturbing reading.
19:14The scans showed two abnormalities,
19:17a dilated third ventricle
19:18and a hole in the membrane
19:20separating the lateral ventricles.
19:22The ventricles are deep structures
19:24that allow cerebral spinal fluid
19:26to flow between different areas of the brain.
19:30Although abnormal,
19:32these results aren't conclusive evidence
19:34of traumatic brain injury.
19:36So, I can discount this
19:38as a cause of Ali's death.
19:41It's clear the tremors and slurring
19:44were the early signs of Parkinson's disease,
19:46which I know was finally diagnosed in 1984.
19:51Muhammad Ali was put on a standard drug regimen
19:54to replace the dopamine
19:56that his brain could no longer make.
19:59But Dr. Hunter has found evidence
20:02of another injury sustained during his fighting years
20:05that could have fatal consequences.
20:10So far, I've discounted a brain injury
20:14sustained from the repeated blows
20:15to Muhammad Ali's head
20:16as being linked to his death.
20:19However, looking back over Ali's boxing career,
20:22I can see another potentially life-threatening consequence
20:24of his fighting,
20:25and that's blood clots.
20:27If these travel to the lungs,
20:29they can cause a pulmonary embolism,
20:31which can result in heart failure and sudden death.
20:36It was in 1976,
20:38during an exhibition fight
20:39with Japanese martial arts fighter Antonio Inoki
20:43that Muhammad Ali sustained the damage.
20:46I predict that this will outsell the freezing fight.
20:48The idea was entertainment.
20:51We're going to take Muhammad Ali,
20:54the greatest boxer in the world,
20:56will put him in a ring against Antonio Inoki,
21:01who is hugely popular in Japan,
21:04is a professional wrestler.
21:07It was all supposed to be scripted.
21:10It was all supposed to be staged.
21:12The problem came several days before the fight
21:17when Ali decided it was against his religion
21:20to trick people.
21:21They were going to have to fight for real.
21:26At the time,
21:28Ali had been a champion boxer
21:29at the top of his game for 16 years.
21:32And it was an abomination.
21:35Inoki obviously didn't want to get punched in the face by Ali.
21:38So Inoki spent 15 rounds on his butt.
21:45He sat on the canvas on his back
21:47and just kicked Muhammad in the lace.
21:50It was really kind of sad.
21:53It was declared a draw after 15 rounds.
22:03Ali was terribly embarrassed by the Inoki fight,
22:07but it also cost him physically.
22:11After the fight,
22:13Muhammad developed blood clots on his lower legs.
22:18The blood clots would likely have been a response to injury.
22:23The blood detects ruptures in the vessels
22:25and platelets bind together with proteins
22:28to form clumps that plug the ruptures.
22:31Normally, this is part of the body's healing process.
22:34But when sustaining large injuries,
22:37these clots can come loose
22:38and travel to other parts of the body
22:40and blood supply to vital organs,
22:43in particular, the lungs.
22:46Ali's entourage was extremely worried
22:48about his blood clots.
22:50To disperse them,
22:51they recommended a series of massages.
22:54Massaging legs that contain blood clots
22:56can be extremely dangerous.
22:58It doesn't necessarily break down the clot,
23:00but carries a high risk of loosening it.
23:03If the clot then travels to the lungs,
23:05it can easily cause a pulmonary embolism.
23:09Although there have been many cases of deaths
23:12following blood clots within the boxing world,
23:14I cannot see another occasion
23:16when Ali suffered from them.
23:18And as this fight happened
23:19almost 40 years before he died,
23:22I'm going to discount a pulmonary embolism
23:25as a cause of death.
23:28April 9, 2016, Phoenix, Arizona.
23:32Two months before Muhammad Ali's death.
23:35It's been over a year since Ali's hospitalization
23:38with a urinary tract infection.
23:40Tonight he's making an appearance
23:41at his annual Celebrity Fight Night,
23:44a star-studded fundraiser
23:45which draws big-name celebrities
23:47and professional athletes.
23:49That was not on anybody's mind
23:51that he would be in the hospital
23:53a few weeks later.
23:54At that time, he didn't look bad.
23:58Tonight's event is in aid
24:00of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
24:02And money is raised during live auctions.
24:04Over the last 23 years,
24:07Ali has raised over $127 million
24:10for the charity.
24:11Reading first-hand accounts
24:13of Ali's appearance
24:14at the charity fundraiser,
24:16there's nothing that would immediately account
24:18for a sudden decline
24:19eight weeks later.
24:22This makes me think that there could be
24:24an underlying issue with his heart.
24:26And I can see that Muhammad Ali
24:29had been diagnosed
24:30with reduced thyroid function.
24:33In the summer of 1980,
24:36Muhammad Ali began training
24:37in preparation for his fight
24:38against Larry Holmes.
24:40Yet despite a grueling regime,
24:42Ali's weight remained stubbornly high.
24:44Dr. Charles Williams,
24:47three weeks before the fight,
24:48visited Muhammad in Thier Lake
24:50and told him that he had a thyroid problem.
24:54The thyroid is a gland in the neck
24:56that controls your metabolism.
24:59Reduced levels of thyroid hormones
25:02have a massive impact on your body,
25:05particularly on muscle strength
25:07and general levels of energy.
25:10Thyroid problems,
25:11particularly in the long term,
25:13have been shown to cause heart failure.
25:15If Muhammad Ali did have thyroid problems,
25:18then this could well be implicated
25:20in his death,
25:21and it would definitely have impacted
25:24on his abilities as a boxer.
25:27Dr. Williams prescribed Muhammad Ali
25:29the drug Thyrolar.
25:33Thyrolar, also known as liatrix,
25:35is a treatment for an underactive thyroid.
25:39Thyrolar supplements
25:40the output of the thyroid gland.
25:43It can have numerous side effects,
25:45which include vomiting and muscle pain.
25:47It's hard to get the dosage right,
25:49and excessive amounts
25:50can cause an accelerated heart rate.
25:53Muhammad Ali later told friends
25:55that he often took two or three times
25:57the recommended dose.
25:59He said,
26:00I thought if one was good,
26:01two would be better.
26:03But there's something else
26:04in Muhammad Ali's notes
26:05that makes me wonder
26:06if the thyroid problem
26:08was misdiagnosed.
26:10I can see that in preparation
26:11for the fight,
26:12Ali was also taking Diderix,
26:15which is a drug
26:16very similar to amphetamine.
26:18This is a major red flag.
26:20This drug is not used
26:22to treat thyroid problems.
26:23I think that both drugs
26:26were likely used as diet pills
26:27and are often abused
26:29to affect weight loss.
26:30They raise your metabolic rate,
26:32and so you use more energy,
26:35which is why you burn more fat.
26:37But amphetamine-like drugs
26:39can increase your heart rate
26:41and your blood pressure.
26:42That can lead to cardiac problems
26:45and also carries other risks
26:46such as stroke.
26:48It's actually really sad
26:49to see this sort of transformation
26:51of someone that was in awe
26:54of their beautiful body
26:55to someone that was willing
26:56to abuse it
26:57just so they could continue fighting.
27:00And I think that's somewhere
27:01where you see him lose his way.
27:06The drug use caused bitter arguments
27:09within Muhammad Ali's entourage,
27:12with some calling for Ali
27:14to cancel the match
27:15against Holmes in Vegas.
27:16When I went to Vegas,
27:18that's when I really found out
27:20what happened.
27:21Hey, coach, how you doing?
27:24When I was walking down the hall,
27:27Ali's room was open.
27:29They talking about not letting Ali fight.
27:31They arguing back and forth.
27:32I'm going to show Larry Holmes
27:34I'm the greatest of all time.
27:36And I said,
27:37whoa, I can't believe
27:38they was doing that.
27:40Ali's sick.
27:41I heard them say it.
27:42Don't let them fight.
27:44At the heart of the dispute
27:45was Ali's attempt to lose weight.
27:48I heard thyroids.
27:49He lost too much weight
27:51in a short period of time
27:52and he was dehydrated.
27:55He was at 240
27:56and by the time the fight came about,
27:59he was down to his fighting weight,
28:01which was 218.
28:02In about three or four weeks,
28:04he lost 22 pounds that quickly.
28:07It wasn't just the drugs
28:08that led to Muhammad Ali's extreme weight loss.
28:11He was also trying to sweat off weight.
28:14The reason for the rubber band
28:15around his middle
28:16is to cut the fat.
28:18He wanted to lose weight.
28:20They kept putting Abilene on him,
28:21you know, this makeup cream.
28:26Abilene cream,
28:27also known as hydroxetone,
28:29was originally developed
28:31as a moisturizing makeup remover.
28:33But athletes often use it
28:35to lose weight.
28:36When applied thickly,
28:37Abilene blocks the skin's pores,
28:39which stimulates more sweat production
28:41than normal.
28:42If you don't replace that water,
28:44you lose weight.
28:47Abilene isn't dangerous in itself.
28:49However, weight loss through sweating
28:51isn't a great idea.
28:54You're not burning fat.
28:55You're dehydrating.
28:57But I don't think Ali's crash dieting
28:59impacted his health in the long term.
29:02Tests in the 80s showed
29:03that there was no indication of damage
29:05to the thyroid gland or the heart.
29:07So, I can discount this
29:10as a cause of Muhammad Ali's death.
29:14Late April, 2016.
29:16Muhammad Ali's home, Scottsdale, Arizona.
29:20Six weeks before his death.
29:22Ali starts hallucinating.
29:24He imagines that he's back in the ring
29:26with Frazier and Foreman.
29:38It's not uncommon for people
29:40with Parkinson's to suffer
29:41from hallucinations.
29:42And sometimes the medications
29:44they are on can trigger them.
29:47But hallucinations can also be caused
29:50by the high fever from an infection.
29:52Not only does Ali have a history
29:54of urinary tract infection,
29:56but his Parkinson's disease
29:58puts him at extremely high risk
30:00of infections, such as pneumonia.
30:03Pneumonia is life-threatening.
30:06Is this what killed Muhammad Ali?
30:10May 30, 2016.
30:14Honor Health Osborne Scottsdale Medical Center, Arizona.
30:18Four days before his death.
30:21Muhammad Ali is admitted
30:22after collapsing at home.
30:26It appears he has a chest infection
30:29and what is described
30:30as a persistent cough.
30:33Although the cough could be
30:35a symptom of pneumonia,
30:36persistent coughing is also
30:39a recognized symptom
30:40of Parkinson's disease.
30:42The brain loses control
30:44over the laryngeal muscles,
30:46which you use for coughing,
30:48swallowing, and speech.
30:51Saliva, then pools in the throat,
30:54making the sufferer feel
30:55the constant need to clear it.
30:59Muhammad had a guttural sound
31:01when he spoke.
31:02And when he coughed,
31:04it was...
31:06I mean, it was really low.
31:08It sounded like he was trying
31:09to control it within his chest.
31:18May 31, 3 days before his death.
31:21Muhammad Ali continues to deteriorate.
31:24As well as suspected pneumonia,
31:26his kidneys have started to fail.
31:32I can see from reports
31:34that Ali was given dialysis.
31:37And dialysis works
31:38by extracting the blood,
31:40filtering out the waste products
31:41the diseased kidneys can't deal with,
31:44and then returning the blood
31:46to the body.
31:48Dialysis is only used
31:50when the kidney function
31:51is drastically impaired.
31:53Just 24 hours
31:55after Muhammad Ali
31:56is admitted to the hospital,
31:58doctors tell the family
31:59that it's time
32:00to prepare for the worst.
32:01Lani called his daughter, Lila,
32:03and told Lila
32:05that Muhammad was in the hospital,
32:07and the doctor said
32:08it doesn't look like
32:08he's going to be going home.
32:11June 1st,
32:12two days before his death.
32:15Muhammad Ali's condition
32:16is now critical.
32:18Medics prepare
32:19to put him on a ventilator.
32:23Doctors would not have put
32:25Muhammad Ali on a ventilator
32:26unless it was absolutely essential,
32:29because putting a tube
32:30into the airway
32:31raises the risk of infections.
32:34This, coupled with the toxic buildup
32:37due to kidney failure,
32:38would be putting a huge strain
32:40on his heart.
32:43What strikes me
32:44about this bout of illness
32:46is that it was quick
32:47and unexpected.
32:50Just eight weeks before,
32:51his friends say
32:53he was relatively healthy.
32:56June 3rd,
32:58family members and friends
32:59come to Muhammad Ali's bedside
33:01to say their goodbyes
33:03to the greatest.
33:14Ana said that
33:15when she went
33:16to say goodbye to him,
33:17she said,
33:18Daddy, it's okay now.
33:20You can leave us.
33:21We'll be okay.
33:25Later that evening,
33:27doctors decide
33:28that there is nothing more
33:29they can do for Ali.
33:30With the family's agreement,
33:32they turn off the life support.
33:48I was at home
33:49and Ana called me.
33:51They took him off
33:52the life support.
33:53Muhammad's heart
33:53kept beating
33:54for 20 more minutes.
33:59That's the heart
33:59of a champion.
34:00It just
34:01wouldn't die.
34:03They say
34:04that he's not
34:05suffering anymore
34:06and they say
34:07that you should rejoice,
34:08that you should celebrate
34:10his life
34:10rather than feel sorry
34:11and sad about it.
34:15The world says goodbye
34:17to Muhammad Ali.
34:19I am the greatest.
34:21The passing
34:21of an American icon,
34:23Muhammad Ali,
34:24the larger-than-life
34:25boxing legend,
34:26has died
34:27at the age of 74.
34:28the end of an era,
34:30the end of a singular figure
34:32in this world.
34:33Ali!
34:34Ali!
34:35Ali!
34:36Ali!
34:38Muhammad Ali's funeral
34:39took place
34:40seven days
34:41after his death.
34:42Over 10,000
34:43turned up
34:44to line the streets.
34:46Billy Crystal,
34:47Ali's wife Lonnie,
34:48and President Bill Clinton
34:50were among the speakers
34:51paying tribute.
34:52I can just hear
34:53Muhammad saying now,
34:55well, I thought
34:56I should be eulogized
34:57by at least
34:58one president.
35:01I went to the memorial
35:03service with the family.
35:04I put my hand
35:05on the casket
35:06and said,
35:09thank you
35:09for the greatest love
35:11of all
35:11given to the world.
35:13Rest in heavenly peace.
35:16The funeral,
35:17in a way,
35:18it was the greatest
35:18tribute to Ali,
35:20the person
35:21that we could
35:22possibly have had.
35:23This is Ali.
35:24He brought people together.
35:28Muhammad Ali
35:29was laid to rest
35:30in Cave Hill Cemetery,
35:31Louisville, Kentucky,
35:33just eight weeks
35:34after his final
35:35public appearance,
35:36a sudden loss
35:37that was keenly felt.
35:40But the mystery
35:41of Muhammad Ali's
35:42death remains.
35:44Dr. Hunter
35:45thinks there may be
35:47a clue
35:47in Ali's failing kidneys.
35:50Sudden and acute
35:51kidney failure
35:52can sometimes
35:53be the result
35:53of poisoning
35:54and I can see
35:55deep within
35:56his medical history
35:57that Ali did have
35:58suspected poisoning
35:59from a pesticide.
36:05Muhammad Ali
36:06underwent testing
36:07for suspected pesticide
36:09poisoning
36:09back in July
36:11of 1988.
36:13At the time,
36:14doctors believed
36:15Ali inhaled
36:16a toxic pesticide
36:17while training outdoors.
36:18some doctors
36:20believed the poisoning
36:22was to blame
36:22for some of the symptoms
36:24linked to Muhammad Ali's
36:25Parkinson's.
36:26The doctor said
36:28that Ali
36:28was suffering
36:30from blood poisoning
36:32at Ali's training camp
36:34in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania.
36:37Doctors proposed
36:38a treatment
36:39to decontaminate
36:40Ali's body,
36:42plasmapheresis.
36:52blood is extracted
36:54from the body
36:54and then filtered
36:55to remove
36:56any possible poisons.
37:01In Ali's case,
37:03they filtered
37:0415 to 20 liters,
37:06and that's equivalent
37:07to pumping out
37:08all of his blood
37:09and pumping it back
37:11three times.
37:16When Muhammad
37:17was asked
37:18to do certain treatments,
37:20Lonnie talked
37:21to doctors
37:21and they'd come up
37:22with different ideas
37:23and this one doctor
37:25had this method
37:26to clean out
37:28Muhammad's blood
37:28and was a theory
37:30that he believed works.
37:32I saw it
37:33and I said,
37:33this is crazy.
37:34I told Lonnie,
37:36I said,
37:36I wouldn't do that.
37:37That's crazy.
37:40There was a period
37:41of a year or two
37:42when Ali underwent
37:43these plasmapheresis treatments,
37:46but they didn't do any good.
37:48It is possible
37:49that Muhammad Ali
37:50had some kind of poisoning,
37:53but tests conducted
37:54in September of 1988
37:55found no evidence
37:57of pesticides.
37:58So,
37:59I can comfortably
38:01rule this out
38:02as being in any way
38:03connected to his death.
38:06Now,
38:06after analyzing
38:07all the evidence,
38:08Dr. Hunter
38:09can finally reveal
38:11what he believes
38:11caused Muhammad Ali's death.
38:14In my opinion,
38:15it was septic shock
38:16that finally killed
38:17Muhammad Ali.
38:19Sepsis
38:20is a serious
38:21medical condition
38:22caused by
38:22an overwhelming
38:23immune response
38:24to infection.
38:26Biochemicals
38:27released in the blood
38:28to combat the infection
38:29trigger widespread inflammation,
38:32which leads
38:32to blood clots
38:33and leaky blood vessels.
38:36This results
38:38in impaired blood flow,
38:39which damages
38:40the body's organs
38:41by depriving them
38:43of nutrients
38:44and oxygen.
38:46In severe cases,
38:48one or more organs fail.
38:50In the worst case,
38:51blood pressure drops,
38:52the heart weakens,
38:53and the patient spirals
38:55towards septic shock.
38:57Once this happens,
38:59multiple organs,
39:00lungs,
39:01kidneys,
39:02liver,
39:02may quickly fail
39:04and the patient dies.
39:06In Ali's case,
39:08it's highly likely
39:09that it was
39:10the suspected pneumonia
39:11that triggered
39:12the sepsis.
39:13I think that this
39:15is why Ali's kidneys
39:16failed despite
39:17no history
39:18of chronic kidney disease.
39:20The hospital
39:21did everything
39:22they could
39:23to help fight
39:24the infection
39:24and sepsis.
39:25But in the end,
39:27after living
39:28and working hard
39:29with Parkinson's
39:30for 33 years,
39:32the former champ
39:33had nothing left.
39:41Muhammad!
39:42Muhammad!
39:43One of the
39:44remarkable things
39:45about Muhammad Ali's
39:48life is that
39:49for 30 years,
39:51really,
39:52the whole world
39:53watched this man
39:55wither away.
39:57We saw it
39:58as he became
39:59more and more
40:01debilitated.
40:02That was a choice
40:04he made.
40:07Oh,
40:08great left hand
40:08taken on the face
40:09of George Floyd.
40:10At the end of each day,
40:12he would ask himself,
40:14if God were to judge me
40:16based just on
40:17what I did today,
40:19would I go to heaven
40:20or hell?
40:21And he lived
40:22his life accordingly.
40:24This will be
40:25no contest.
40:26This will be
40:27a total annihilation.
40:28This fight
40:29was my fight.
40:30We were all
40:31in the same boat.
40:32We were all
40:33being treated the same.
40:34He wanted to
40:35change things.
40:36That's all.
40:37He wanted to
40:37change things.
40:38My stand for
40:39my religious belief,
40:40my stand for my people,
40:41speaking up for my people,
40:43all of them are with me,
40:44and that's all I want.
40:45He stood up
40:46what he thought
40:46to believe in.
40:50And it made him
40:51stronger for it.
40:55Muhammad Ali
40:56is not just
40:57the story of boxing.
40:58He's the story
40:58of America
40:59in the 20th century.
41:00He's the story
41:01of slavery,
41:02segregation,
41:03of Vietnam,
41:04of civil rights,
41:05of Islam.
41:08this is why
41:09he is so different,
41:10this is why
41:10he is so special,
41:11and this is why
41:12we will talk about him
41:14forever.
41:17Muhammad Ali
41:18was determined
41:19to be the greatest.
41:21He boxed for 21 years,
41:23losing only five fights
41:25out of 61.
41:27And he paid
41:28the price willingly.
41:30Not only was he
41:31the greatest
41:32as a boxer,
41:32but also
41:34as an advocate
41:35and inspiration
41:37for all those
41:38who suffer
41:39from Parkinson's disease.
41:41I must be the greatest.
41:43I shook up the world.
41:45I shook up the world.
41:47I shook up the world.
41:49I shook up the world.
Comments