Muhammad Ali remembered by Michael J. Fox, fellow face of Parkinson’s, as ‘a warrior for the cure’

June 4, 2016

Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox pretend to duke it out before a Senate subcommittee hearing on May 22, 2002.

 (KENNETH LAMBERT/AP)

In the hours after Muhammad Ali died, another famous face of Parkinson’s disease threw his tribute into the ring.

“Ali, the G-O-A-T. A giant, an inspiration, a man of peace, a warrior for the cure. Thank you,” Michael J. Fox tweeted Saturday morning.

The “Back to the Future” alum included one of many photos of himself faux-sparring with Ali, who died late Friday of complications from the degenerative disease.

The heavyweight champ, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984, three years after his retirement, teamed up with Fox to raise awareness after the actor revealed in 1998 that he, too, suffered from the yet-incurable neurological condition.

Over the years, the two appeared together in Parkinson’s PSAs, at fund-raising benefits and even a May 2002 Senate subcommittee hearing to make a case for funding research for a cure.

Fox further memorialized the boxing great Saturday in a blog post on his Parkinson’s research foundation website.

“Muhammad was a true legend — a champion in the boxing ring, and a champion for millions of Parkinson’s families,” he said in a statement. “We looked up to him as an example of grace and courage in the face of great challenges. He will be missed.”

Fox described Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., as one of his role models in a 2009 Guardian profile. He recalled once phoning the former athlete’s wife, Lonnie Ali, to ask how Ali viewed his legacy in the face of declining health.

“I was thinking, ‘What does he think when he sees himself on television as he was as Cassius Clay? Ducking and weaving and joking and spouting poetry. Does he feel sadness? A sense of loss?’ Lonnie said, ‘He loves it. He loves to see himself. He can’t get enough of it.’”

“And I got that,” Fox told the Guardian. “Because it’s still him. Parkinson’s doesn’t take away anything of his identity.”

Ali died Friday at Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Arizona. Funeral arrangements, slated to be in his native Louisville, Ky., had yet to be announced Saturday morning.

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