Ali fights a fearsome foe

Muhammad Ali is "not in any pain" and leads a "full and beautiful life" despite living with advancing Parkinson's Disease, according to his daughter, Hana.

"I call him in the mornings, every morning, he speaks the best in the mornings. You could actually hear his soft sweet voice," she said.

"He jokes, he kids around about making a comeback even now today. So he would want the world to know that he enjoys being Muhammad Ali."

Speaking at the launch of I Am Ali, a new documentary about the 72-year-old former boxing legend's life, Hana's sister, Maryum, said her father does not want people to feel sorry for him.

"You want to know about Muhammad Ali, look up about what Parkinson's is. He has had it for 30 years and he has handled it like a champ," she said.

"He has fought it like any other opponent he has had. He has raised a lot of money for research and awareness and has really enhanced the Parkinson's community in his way so just be happy for him.

"Hana said that my dad said, 'I've lived the life of 100 men.' So just be proud he is still with us and that he left that legacy for us," she said.

This follows comments made by Ali's brother, Rahman, that the former world champion is so stricken by the ravages of Parkinson's that he can hardly speak.

Rahman, 71, told UK newspaper the Sunday People: "I have not been able to talk to my brother about this because he is sick.

"He doesn't speak too well. But he is proud we are here for him."

As the three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Ali was almost impossible to beat, but his long fight against the degenerative brain condition is one battle he cannot win, his family says.

The 40-year anniversary of probably Ali's biggest fight, The Rumble in the Jungle fought in 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), is on October 30. It pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Ali.

Ali won by a knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. It has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century".

The film I Am Ali, which is to be released in the UK on November 28, contains new personal archive footage of the boxer and his family.