MUHAMMAD Ali?s son, who hasn?t spoken to his dad in two years, has said he might as well not have a father.
Muhammad Ali Jnr, 43, has been living in a ghetto on Chicago?s notorious South Side ? one of the most infamously dangerous places to live in the US.
He has been relying on handouts from charities and government welfare payments to feed his family for the last ten years.
In his last interview before the boxing icon?s death, given two months ago, the son of Ali’s first wife Khalilah Ali said he was closer to his dad?s celebrity lookalike than his actual father.
He told the Mail: ?He?s now my mentor. I met him at a barber?s shop called Celebrity Cuts.
?The owner Abdul Shabbah used to cut my father?s hair.
?One day, he walked in and I got off my seat and shouted ‘Daddy,’ and we’ve known each other ever since. He?s been a mentor.?
He said his father had done nothing to help his desperate situation, as he struggles to provide for his wife, Shaakira, and two children ? Ameera, 8, and Shakera, 7.
He claimed to have seen him for his 72nd and 73rd birthdays but said Ali Snr would never call him back.
Ali Jnr said: ?My father can’t do a thing for me ? it’s the same as not having one.?
He also admitted he didn?t even care what happened to his old man, who had been suffering from Parkinson?s for many years.
And he revealed he spends more of his time caring for his grandfather on his mum?s side of the family, who also has the debilitating disease.
He said: ?I’ve got more things to worry about than my father, I got to live life, I’ve got to have a roof over my head, whether someone else is doing good or not, is no concern to me.?
But it has been reported that after everything it seems Ali Jnr was at his father?s side before he died.
Family spokesman, Bob Gunnell, told WHAS 11: ?They were all there to say their final goodbye…every member of his family was there.?
However, it is unclear if the pair made their peace with each other before the sporting icon passed away.
Muhammad Ali died in hospital in Arizona, USA, at the age of 74 yesterday.
