Muhammad Ali Hospitalized With 'Mild' Pneumonia

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, pictured in 2011, was in stable condition after being hospitalized with a "mild" case of pneumonia, his spokesman Bob Gunnell said ©Yuri Gripas (AFP)

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who has suffered from Parkinson's Disease for three decades, was in stable condition after being hospitalized with a "mild" case of pneumonia, his spokesman said late Saturday.

AFP reports the 72-year-old Ali was admitted Saturday and is not expected to remain in the hospital long, Bob Gunnell said.

"He was admitted earlier this morning and because the pneumonia was caught early, his prognosis is good with a short hospital stay expected," Gunnell said.

Pneumonia can be a dangerous complication of Parkinson's, the debilitating neurological condition Ali has suffered from since about 1984.

Parkinson's causes shaking, balance problems and general loss of muscle control.

Ali's doctor Abraham Lieberman warned in November that Parkinson's can be deadly because it makes sufferers susceptible to falling or if people with the disease have trouble swallowing and then develop pneumonia.

During the interview with the BBC, Lieberman said Ali did not have trouble swallowing.

Gunnell said Ali was being treated by a "team of doctors" but did not go into detail or say where Ali was admitted.

In recent years, Ali has made fewer public appearances as Parkinson's has increasingly taken its toll.

He was seen in September when he attended the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards in Louisville, Kentucky where Ali was born and where he keeps a home.

Ali had a storied career as a professional boxer from 1960 to 1981.