All Quotes by Muhammad Ali
“I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion'.”
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”
“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
“Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.”
“I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him.”
“Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”
“When I won the Golden Gloves in 1960, that made me realize I had a chance. And when I won at the Olympics, that sealed it: I was the champ.”
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”
“The man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.”
“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.”
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”
“I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.”
“Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”
“It's not bragging if you can back it up.”
“It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.”
“If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.”
“My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.”
“I used to tease Joe Louis by reminding him that I was the greatest of all time. But Joe Louis was the greatest heavyweight fighter ever.”
“Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.”
“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.”
“It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.”
“I'm the greatest thing that ever lived! I'm the king of the world! I'm a bad man. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived.”
“My principles are more important than the money or my title.”
“Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.”
“No intelligent black man or black woman in his or her right black mind wants white boys and white girls coming to their homes to marry their black sons and daughters.”
“You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.”
“At home I am a nice guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far.”
“To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the U.S.A. won the medal of gold. The Greeks said, 'You're better than the Cassius of old.'”
“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.”
“Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can't talk. The man can't fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he's gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.”
“A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.”
“My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.”
“I've made my share of mistakes along the way, but if I have changed even one life for the better, I haven't lived in vain.”
“I never thought of losing, but now that it' s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.”
“We who follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad don't want to be forced to integrate. Integration is wrong. We don't want to live with the white man; that's all.”
“I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.”
“Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.”
“God tries you in certain, certain ways. Some people are rich, and they believe in God. They lose the money, things get hard, they get weak and quit going to church. Quit serving God like they did.”
“I shook up the world, I shook up the world.”
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
“I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.”
“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.”
“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.”
“I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.”
“It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
“It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.”
“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”
“Old age is just a record of one's whole life.”
“Archie's been living off the fat of the land. 'Cause you'll all go home after round four.”
“Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.”
“I am the man this poem’s about, I AM THE GREATEST!”
“It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”
“I knew I had him in the first round. Almighty God was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to God everyday. I know the real God. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!”
“It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”
“My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn't put no dogs on me, they didn't rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father. ... Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.”
“I don't have to be what you want me to be.”
“I'm not gonna help nobody get something my negroes don't have. If I'm gonna die, I'll die now right here fighting you, if I'm gonna die. You my enemy. My enemies are white people, not Viet Congs or Chinese or Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs, and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won't even stand up for me here at home.”
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”
“I think Terrell will catch hell at the sound of the bell. Now I'm not sayin' just to be funny, but I'm fightin' Ernie because he needs the money.”
“Superman don't need no seat belt.”
“All kinds of things set us back, but life goes on. You don’t shoot yourself. Soon this will be old news. People got lives to live, bills to pay, mouths to feed. Maybe a plane will go down with ninety people on it. Or a great man will be assassinated. That will be more important than Ali losing. I never wanted to lose, never thought I would, but the thing that matters is how you lose. I’m not crying. My friends should not cry.”
“What keeps me going is goals.”
“Ain't no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.”
“I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.”
“I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.”
“Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.”
“If you were surprised when Nixon resigned, just watch what happens when I whup Foreman's behind!”
“Old age is just a record of one's whole life.”
“You been hearing about how bad I am since you were a little kid with mess in your pants! Tonight, I'm gonna whip you till you cry like a baby.”
“Go up in an airplane. Go high enough, and it's like we don't even exist.”
“That's the only way you gonna save this sucker. He's doomed.”
“I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.”
“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
“I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky.”
“I hated every minute of it. But I said to myself, 'Suffer now, and live the rest of your life as a champion'.”
“No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.”
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”
“My toughest fight was with my first wife.”
“If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don't ask how. Hitch him up.”
“If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you - until you get your revenge.”
“Religions all have different names, but they all contain the same truths. … I think the people of our religion should be tolerant and understand people believe different things.”
“You can't keep your mind on fighting when you're thinking about a woman. You can't keep your concentration. You feel like sleeping all the time.”
“What's really hurting me, the name Islam is involved, and Muslim is involved and causing trouble and starting hate and violence. … Islam is not a killer religion. … Islam means peace, I couldn't just sit home and watch people label Muslims as the reason for this problem.”
“Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.”
“I'm retiring because there are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
“I'm just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence.”
“It's a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.”
“I would say things like 'I am the greatest! I'm pretty! If you talk jive, you'll drop in five! I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! I'm pretty!' When white people heard me talking like this, some said, 'That black man talks too much. He's bragging.'”
“Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.”
“I said I was 'The Greatest,' I never said I was the smartest!”
“Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wildlife.”
“I wanted to use my fame and this face that everyone knows so well to help uplift and inspire people around the world.”
“It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”
“The man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.”
“I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round”
“I'm no leader; I'm a little humble follower.”
“Allah is the Greatest. I'm just the greatest boxer.”
“The only thing that matters is submitting to the will of God.”
“I'd like for them to say he took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern, and then, he mix willlingness with happiness, he added lots of faith, and he stired it up well, then he spreads it over his span of a lifetime, and he served it to each and every deserving person he met.”
“To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.”
“Friendship is a priceless gift that cannot be bought nor sold, but its value is far greater than a mountain made of gold; for gold is cold & lifeless - it can neither see nor hear, in time of trouble its powerless to cheer — it has no ears to listen, no heart to understand, it cannot bring you comfort or reach out a helping hand. So when you ask God for a gift, be thankful if sends not diamonds, pearls or riches but the love of real true friends.”
“I've seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won.”
“I believe in Allah and in peace. I don't try to move into white neighborhoods. I don't want to marry a white woman. I was baptized when I was twelve, but I didn't know what I was doing. I'm not a Christian anymore. I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be...I'm free to be what I want.”
“The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon - there are more Muhammads than anything else. When I joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, they gave me the most famous name because I was the champ.”
“Over the years my religion has changed and my spirituality has evolved. Religion and spirituality are very different, but people often confuse the two. Some things cannot be taught, but they can be awakened in the heart. Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn't belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.”
“I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.”
“We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways forms and times. It doesn't matter whether you're a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can't love only some of his children.”
“I had to prove you could be a new kind of black man. I had to show the world.”
“To make America the greatest is my goal, 'Cause they're waiting to welcome me in Louisville.”
“I got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”
“Since I won't let the critics seal my fate, they I'm doing good and having fun.”
“I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.”
“There live a great man named Joe And then fought like gladiator in the ring.”
“Ever since I first came here in 1963 to fight Henry Cooper, I have loved the people of England.”
“For every struggle that Joe survived, as a model for champions to come. While Frazier was a man of few words, Ali was a world of mouth, but he found his place in history. Now his heart can express him well. Joe Frazier was a silent warrior, whom Ali silently admired. One could not rise without the other.”
“I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it - and I may come back.”
“When I won the Golden Gloves in 1960, that made me realize I had a chance. And when I won at the Olympics, that sealed it: I was the champ.”
“No boxer in the history of boxing has had Parkinson's. There's no injury in my brain that suggests that the illness came from boxing.”
“The white man is destroying the world.”
“Cassius Clay is a name that white people gave to my slave master. Now that I am free, that I don't belong anymore to anyone, that I'm not a slave anymore, I gave back their white name, and I chose a beautiful African one.”
“I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over - like the Kennedys down in Washington.”
“You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foreman's behind.”
“The fact is, I was never too bright in school. I ain't ashamed of it, though. I mean, how much do school principals make a month?”
“If I said I would knock out Sonny Liston in 1 minute and 49 seconds of the first round, that would hurt the gate.”
“It's in my blood to be around people while I was training.”
“I've been everywhere in the world, seen everything, had everything a man can have.”
“I'm more at home with my log cabins than I am in my house in Cherry Hill.”
“There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.”
“My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, 'The Intoxication of Life,' 'The Purpose of Life,' 'The Real Cause of Man's Distress,' 'The Journey to the Goal in Life,' and, one of my favorites, 'The Heart of Man.' They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.”
“I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him.”
“Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the U.S. Bureau of Wild Life.”
“My trainer don't tell me nothing between rounds. I don't allow him to. I fight the fight. All I want to know is did I win the round. It's too late for advice.”
“My principles are more important than the money or my title.”
“All of us are so mixed. My great-grandfather was white.”
“I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.”
“I calculate that I took 20,000 punches, but I earned millions and kept a lot of it. I may talk slow, but my mind is OK.”
“Terrorists are not following Islam. Killing people and blowing up people and dropping bombs in places and all this is not the way to spread the word of Islam. So people realize now that all Muslims are not terrorists.”
“Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”
“The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters.”
“Ali's got a left, Ali's got a right - when he knocks you down, you'll sleep for the night; and when you lie on the floor and the ref counts to ten, hope and pray that you never meet me again.”
“I should be a postage stamp, because that's the only way I'll ever get licked. I'm beautiful. I'm fast. I'm so mean I make medicine sick. I can't possibly be beat.”
“Ali's got a left, Ali's got a right - when he knocks you down, you'll sleep for the night; and when you lie on the floor and the ref counts to ten, hope and pray that you never meet me again.”
“There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
“I didn't want to submit to the army and then, on the day of judgment, have God say to me, 'Why did you do that?' This life is a trial, and you realize that what you do is going to be written down for Judgment Day.”
“Life is so, so short. Bible says it's like a vapor.”
“Don't feel sorry for me.”
“Joe Frazier got hit more than me - and he doesn't have Parkinson's.”
“When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.”
“I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.”
“America is the greatest country in the world.”
“Anywhere I go, there is always an incredible crowd that follows me. In Rome, as I land at the airport, even the men kiss me. I love Rome.”
“The Nation of Islam's main focus was teaching black pride and self-awareness. Why should we keep trying to force ourselves into white restaurants and schools when white people didn't want us? Why not clean up our own neighborhoods and schools instead of trying to move out of them and into white people's neighborhoods?”
“I give thanks to God and to all the people in the U.K. who have supported me over the years.”
“White people just don't want their slaves to be free. That's the whole thing.”
“All black Americans have slave names. They have white names; names that the slave master has given to them.”
“People don't realize what they had till it's gone. Like President Kennedy, there was no one like him, the Beatles, and my man Elvis Presley. I was the Elvis of boxing.”
“The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon - there are more Muhammads than anything else. When I joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, they gave me the most famous name because I was the champ.”
“Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.”
“No boxer in the history of boxing has had Parkinson's. There's no injury in my brain that suggests that the illness came from boxing.”
“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.”
“Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.”
“I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.”
“God tries you in certain, certain ways. Some people are rich, and they believe in God. They lose the money, things get hard, they get weak and quit going to church. Quit serving God like they did.”
“Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.”
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it.”
“The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters.”