Boxing great Mohammad Ali was close to death in a Phoenix-area hospital on Friday, claims news agency citing its sources.
Former world heavyweight champion Ali was hospitalised this week for a respiratory ailment.
Boxer’s family spokesman Bob Gunnell has said, Ali, 74, was in fair condition, but media reports have said he was in rapidly failing health.
Asked about Ali’s condition, the source said: “It’s extraordinarily grave. It’s a matter of hours.”
The source, who had spoken with Ali’s wife, Lonnie, added: “It could be more than a couple of hours, but it’s not going to be much more. Funeral arrangements are already being made.”
Gunnell did not respond to repeated requests for comment about Ali’s condition.
It is pertinent to mention here that, Ali suffered from Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades and has kept a low profile in recent years.
The Radar Online website reported on Friday that Ali had been placed on life support, citing “an insider.”
The Reuters source close to the family could not comment on that report.
Ali’s last public appearance was in April at the “Celebrity Fight Night” gala in Arizona, a charity that benefits the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
