Wouldn’t it be a beautiful world if just 10 percent of the people who believe in the power of love would compete with one another to see who could do the most good for the most people?
I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion.
The will must be stronger than the skill.
We must not only control the weapons that can kill us, we must bridge the great disparities of wealth and opportunity among the peoples of the world, the vast majority of whom live in poverty without hope, opportunity or choices in life. These conditions are a breeding ground for division that can cause a desperate people to resort to nuclear weapons as a last resort. Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place…
If you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
I’m a Muslim. I’ve been a Muslim for 20 years. . . . You know me. I’m a boxer. I’ve been called the greatest. People recognize me for being a boxer and a man of truth. I wouldn’t be here representing Islam if it were terrorist. . . . I think all people should know the truth, come to recognize the truth. Islam is peace.
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.
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.
I try to learn as much as I can because I know nothing compared to what I need to know.
Prejudice comes from being in the dark; sunlight disinfects it.
Tolerance and understanding won’t ‘trickle down’ in our society any more than wealth does.
I’m the best. I just haven’t played yet.
That all you got, George?
Wisdom is knowing when you can’t be wise.
Children make you want to start life over.
We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.
I don’t smoke but I keep a match box in my pocket, when my heart slips towards sin, I burn the matchstick and heat my palm with it, then say to myself, “Ali you can’t even bear this heat, how would you bear the unbearable heat of hellfire?”#29;
Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you’re through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you. Advice to a young person to continue his education.
War on nations changes maps. War on poverty maps change.
When people are forced to interact to survive, their prejudices diminish.
Maybe I was great in the ring, but outside of boxing, I’m just a brother like other people. I want to live a good life, serve God, help everybody I can. And one more thing. I’m still gonna find out who stole my bike when I was 12 years old in Louisville and I’m gonna whup him. That was a good bike.
When a man says I cannot, he has made a suggestion to himself. He has weakened his power of accomplishing that which otherwise would have been accomplished.
A black, a Puerto Rican and a Mexican are in a car. Who’s driving? The police.
The bull is stronger, but the matador is smarter.
Black people in America will never be free so long as they’re on the white man’s land…We can’t be free until we get our own land and our own country in North America. When we separate from America and take maybe ten states, then we’ll be free.
America don’t have no future! America’s going to be destroyed! Allah’s going to divinely chastise America! Violence, crimes, earthquakes- there’s gonna be all kinds of trouble. America’s going to pay for all its lynchings and killings of slaves and what it’s done to black people.
If you want to be equal with me, you can get your own Rolls-Royce, your own house and your own million dollars.
I was the first one in the gym, and the last one to leave.
Only the nose knows Where the nose goes When the door close.
You know I hate fighting. If I knew how to make a living some other way, I would.
I’ve wrestled with alligators, I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning And throw thunder in jail. You know I’m bad. just last week, I murdered a rock, Injured a stone, Hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.
Islam is against killing, terrorism, and murder. People who commit these acts in the name of Islam are wrong. And if I had a chance I would do something about it.
In the big leagues everyone has ability. It always comes down to mind games. Who ever is more mentally strong-wins.
Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone and hospitalized a brick.
What I’ve found is that the religion that matters, the real religion is love.
There comes a time in every person’s life when he has to choose the course his life will take.
I don’t have to be what you want me to be.
People will know you’re serious when you produce.
I’ve never let anyone talk me into not believing in myself
To succeed,all I need to do is suffer.
Champions are not generated from the championship. Champion is generated from something they have in them, desires, dreams, and visions.
What I will remember most about Mr Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.
No one starts out on top. You have to work your way up.
You dont lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down.
The man who will whip me will be fast, strong and hasn’t been born yet.
I don’t count my situps. I only start counting once it starts hurting.
Someone stole my bicycle and I said I was going to learn to fight so that I could catch him and beat him up. But I never did catch him. But I ended up the champ of the whole world.
I’ve never really resented hard work because I’ve always liked it. Up every morning for roadwork. Going to the gymnasium every day at 12 o’clock. I never change my pattern.
If the boxers are a little more colorful, talk a little like I did and just do half as much as I did for boxing, it will be all right.
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 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.
I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
Once the Choice is Made, Do Not Look Back, Do Not Second-Guess Your Decisions
A man who views the world the same…
I came back to Louisville after the Olympics with my shiny gold medal. Went into a luncheonette where black folks couldn’t eat. Thought I’d put them on the spot. I sat down and asked for a meal. The Olympic champion wearing his gold medal. They said, “We don’t serve niggers here.” I said, “That’s okay, I don’t eat ’em.” But they put me out in the street. So I went down to the river, the Ohio River, and threw my gold medal in it.
You’re not going to enjoy every minute of the journey, but the success you’ll find at the end will make it all worth it.
I’ll leave you with one that I have hanging on my office wall, compliments of Nike: Impossible is nothing.
Who is the descendant of the slavemasters a descendant of slaves to fight other people in thier own country?
There are billions of people in the world, and every one of them is special. No one else in the world is like you.
I’m so fast I could hit you before God gets the news.
God gave me Parkinson’s syndrome to show me I’m not ‘The Greatest’ – he is.
I had it in my heart. I believed in myself, and I had confidence. I knew how to do it, had natural talent and I pursued it.
Put yourself out on a limb, sucka, like me!
Who would have thought, when they came to the fight, that they’d witness a launchin’ of a black satellite
Religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways forms and times
I have not lost [Allah’s] hope in us to show compassion where none exists and to extend mercy in the most difficult of circumstances. We as Muslims must lead by example
This relationship will help guarantee that, for generations to come, people of all nations will understand my beliefs and my purpose
Be loud, be pretty and keep their black-hatin’ asses in their chairs
Nobody has to tell me that this is a serious business. I’m not fighting one man. I’m fighting a lot of men, showing a lot of ’em, here is one man they couldn’t defeat, couldn’t conquer. My mission is to bring freedom to 30m black people
Since I won’t let the critics seal my fate, they keep hollering I’m full of hate. But they don’t really hurt me none, ’cause I’m doing good and having fun.
I called my training camp Fighter’s Heaven
The roughest and toughest fighter I fought was Joe Frazier
The crowd did not dream when they laid down their money that they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny!
We are stone enemies when the bell rings
I used to ask my brother Rudy to throw rocks at me. I’d dodge every one. That’s how I learned how to bob and weave: ducking rocks.
I don’t know what truculent means, but if it’s good, it’s me
I started out making $4 for my first fight, but imagine paying $25,000 for a painting…look at me!
Stay away from the ropes
You made a big mistake by letting me come, because now I’m going after your job
Catching flies is better training than hitting the speed bag
Don’t ever squeeze a fighter’s hand, man. You’re doing good just to lay your eyes on me
When your mother dies, it really hurts. But with time, you get used to it. That’s nature’s way
It’s possible for the heavyweight champion of the world to be with one woman
I’m most proud of my family
Lighting that torch in Atlanta didn’t make me nervous. Standing up to the government – that made me nervous
The one thing I don’t understand is war
I’d like to live to a hundred
Lakes, rivers, streams…all are water and all travel to the same destination. So it is with religion.
When I meet a new person, I do’ see race or religion. I look deeper. We must learn to satisfy our conflicts peacefully and to respect one another.
People will know you’re serious when you produce.
How many push ups do you do? I don’t know. I only starts counting when it starts hurting
Impossible is nothing.
Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God.
I try not to speak about all the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.
My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love, and spirituality.
All through my life, I have been tested. My will has been tested, my courage has been tested, my strength has been tested. Now my patience and endurance are being tested.
When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.
We can’t be brave without fear.
Now I had won the gold medal. But it didn’t mean anything, because I didn’t have the right color skin.
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
Friendship is not something you can learn in college or some learning institution, no one knows how to become friends you just become but if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship you haven’t learned anything
Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision.
How could they say that my religion, Islam was a ‘race hate’ religion after all the plunder and enslavement and domination of my people by white Christians in the name of white supremacy?
To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.
I ain’t got no quarrel with the Viet Cong.
I”ve wrestled with alligators, I”ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning And throw thunder in jail. You know I’m bad. just last week, I murdered a rock, Injured a stone, Hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.
Don’t count the days, make the days count.
I’m the greatest, I’m a bad man, and I’m pretty!
I’m The Greatest, but only in relation to fighting.
Fighting by itself doesn’t interest me anymore. I want to help people, the black people and I need any kind of media to spread my thought: God, charity, peace.
I don’t know how many millions I’ll make, so I have to give some back to charity. God blesses me with the money, but only if I give some away.
I never push in front my muscles, only my religion, so I’m protected.
Women are not equal with men, that’s sure. When the woman is in danger she always looks to the man for help. We are superior by nature. The black or white woman needn’t worry in life because the world is ruled by the white man.
I wasn’t thinking of being the greatest. But I knew I had a chance.
My main purpose is to pray five times a day. And that’s not easy.
I live. I travel. I eat. I pray. These are the things I do. I’d rather be in my condition than be a man with four children in a four-bedroom house, working hard every day to pay for his house, taking his children to school.
There’s a reason I’m known – to bring people to Allah, to God.
I’m going to show you how great I am!
If you look at the world the same way when you’re 50 that you did when you were 20, then you wasted 30 years.
Scatter abroad what you have already amassed rather than pile up new wealth.
Believe me, a thousand friends suffice thee not; In a single enemy thou hast more than enough.
The sweetness of life lies in dispensing with formalities.
Do not be ashamed to give a little; for to deceive is to give still less.
Who’s gonna dare to be great?
Whoever listens to slander is himself a slanderer.
Stumbling is the fruit of haste.
Be obedient to your superior, and your inferior will obey you.
The worst man is the one who sees himself as the best.
Whoever knocks persistently, ends by entering.
The whites have always had the say in America. White people made Jesus white, angels white, the Last Supper white. If I threaten you, I’m blackmailing you. A black cat is bad luck. If you’re put out of a club, you’re blackballed. Angel’s-food cake is white; devil’s-food cake is black. Good guys in cowboy movies wear white hats. The bad guys always wore black hats.
If you love God, tear out your heart’s love of the world.
Not to commit faults counts for more than to do good.
The man of least capacity is the one who shows himself incapable of self-correction.
Oh! how the hours hasten to change into days, the days into months, the months into years, and those into life’s annihilation!
I’ll destroy you. I am the master of disaster.
Anyhow, I don’t think Don King’s a very good man. But then again, I doubt that a good man *could* succeed in his business. I’m sure boxing was a dirty sport before he came around. He may have just made it moreso. So that’s about all I’ve got to say about him.
What you are thinking is what you are becoming.
Some gems for the greatest of them all
There’s nothing stressful about turning 50 except people reminding you about it.
Fifty years old, 212 fights, and I’m still pretty.
I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road. I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. I am still learning.
Impossible is not a fact, it’s an opinion.
The only limitations one has, are the ones they place on themselves
I love boxing and it did a lot for me. But sometimes it made me think how savage human beings could be to each other. That wasn’t the kind of boxer I wanted to be. My strategy was to be as scientific as I could when I fought. I didn’t want to be seriously hurt, and I didn’t want to do that to anybody else either.
When you saw me in the boxing ring fighting, it wasn’t just so I could beat my opponent. My fighting had a purpose. I had to be successful in order to get people to listen to the things I had to say.
A fighter can condition his body to go hard certain rounds, then to coast certain rounds.
Now you see me, now you don’t. George thinks he will, but I know he won’t!
I hospitalized a rock, killed a brick…I’m so bad I make medicine sick!
That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful. And to me, still, I would say pound for pound…I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound for pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.
You can be free. You can be black. Look at me! I’m the Heavyweight Champion! Can’t nobody stop me.
I shook up the world.
If you were surprised when Nixon resigned, just watch what happens when I whup Foreman’s behind!
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.
Frazier’s got two chances. Slim, and none. And Slim just left town
Boxing’s a rough sport. After every fight I rush to the mirror to make sure I’m presentable.
But when I looked at a lot of the questions they had on them army tests, I just didn’t know the answers. I don’t even know how to start after finding the answers. That’s all.
So I didn’t pass. It was the army’s decision that they didn’t want me to go into the service. They’re the boss. I don’t want to say no whole lot about it.
The fact is I never was too bright in school. I just barely graduated. I had a D- average. I ain’t ashamed of it, though. I mean, how much do principals make a month?
The word had spread and people were piling around us. But then very suddenly, Sonny Liston froze me with that look of his. He said real quiet, ‘Let’s go on over here.’ And he led the way to a table and the people hung back. I ain’t going to lie. This was the only time since I have known Sonny Liston that he really scared me.
I saw that streak in him when he told me, ‘Get the hell out of here or I’ll wipe you out., I got the hell out of there, Liston really scared me.
I just felt the power and the meanness of the man I was messing with.
I have the world heavyweight title not because it was ‘given’ to me, not because of my race or religion, but because I won it in the ring through my own boxing ability.
I always liked to chase the girls. Parkinson’s stops all that. Now I might have a chance to go to heaven.
Unknown Make new friends but keep the old ones; one is silver and the other’s gold.
If America were in a just war I’d volunteer for the front line. I’d do the shuffling and win the war.
If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I’ll break the news: you never heard of them. Most of them … can fight almost as good as I can. I’m just saying you never heard of them.
I predict that this will be the greatest book ever and it will sell more than any other book in history
Holmes is so ugly, his grandmother said when he started to cry the tears would stop and roll down the back of his head.
I wanted to keep these trunks as a souvenir.” “Now look at them.” “They were splattered with blood.
Will be a divine fight, a holy war…Armageddon on a miniature scale.
I am so mean I’ve handcuffed lightnin’ and thrown thunder in jail.
Death is the tax the soul has to pay for having a name and a form
I can drown a drink of water. I can kill a dead tree. Don’t mess with Muhammad Ali.
He’s too ugly to be the champ!
People don’t realise what they had till it’s gone. Like President Kennedy – nobody like him. Like The Beatles, there will never be anything like them. Like my man, Elvis Presley – I was the Elvis of boxing.
Eat your words! Eat your words! I am the greatest.
Love is a net that catches hearts like a fish
If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don’t ask how. Hitch him up.
When you come to the fight Don’t block the halls and don’t block the door, for y’all may go home after round four.
You can go to Japan, China, all the European, African, Arab, and South American countries, and man, they know me. I can’t name a nation where they don’t know me.
I said a lot of things in the heat of the moment that I shouldn’t have said. Called him names I shouldn’t have called him. I apologise for that. I’m sorry. It was all meant to promote the fight.
I said I was the greatest, not the smartest.
Howard Cosell was gonna be a boxer when he was a kid only they couldn’t find a mouthpiece big enough.
I’m gonna have to be killed before I lose, and I ain’t going to die easy.
I don’t always know what I’m talking about, but I know I’m right.
I strongly object to the fact that so many newspapers have given the American public and the world the impression that I have only two alternatives in taking this stand: either I go to jail or go to the Army. There is another alternative and that alternative is justice. If justice prevails, if my Constitutional rights are upheld, I will be forced to go neither to the Army nor jail. In the end I am confident that justice will come my way for the truth must eventually prevail.
I just give lip service to being the greatest. He was the greatest.
A lot of boxers’ features change – mainly when I fight ’em
I’ve got it! I’ve got it! It’ll make front-page headlines around the world. You can have me kidnapped, and then a couple of days before the fight I’ll show up again
The show was bad, but I was great
That computer was made in Alabama
I only read the Holy Koran, the Bible and the sports pages
Fifteen referees. I want fifteen referees to be at this fight because there ain’t no one man who can keep up with the pace I’m gonna set except me. There’s not a man alive who can whup me. I’m too fast. I’m too smart. I’m too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That’s the only way I’ll ever get licked.
I sought the advice and cooperation from all those around me- but not permission.
Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.
True giving happens when we give from our heart.
Love is the net where hearts are caught like fish.
I run on the road long before I dance under the lights.
You could be the world’s best garbage man, the world’s best model; it don’t matter what you do if you’re the best.
If the culprits are Muslim, they have twisted the teachings of Islam. Whoever performed, or is behind, the terrorist attacks in the United States of America does not represent Islam. God is not behind assassins.
This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction.
Most people don’t pray until they’re in trouble. When people need help they pray a lot. But after they get what they want, they slow down. If a man takes five showers a day, his body will be clean. Praying five times a day helps me clean my mind.
My health is in the hands of Allah, who has ways of testing us. Whatever happens, happens. I a’int the greatest – it’s Allah. I gave myself a job. I work for God.
The Prophet introduced a system of prayer in that it was interwoven into man’s daily work: a prayer in the morning when he arose from his bed; a prayer at lunch time, as an indication that if his body needed a diet, so did his spirit; a prayer in the afternoon when he retired from his daily work; a prayer at sunset and a prayer when going to bed.
Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.
I was saying “I’m the greatest” long before I believed it.
In Ali change creation faith growth hope humor life living Muhammad Ali transformation wonder If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
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
Why do I want my wife to show off her panties when the wind blows? Horses show their behinds, and cows and mules, not humans
There are two things that are hard to hit and see. That’s a spooky ghost and Muhammad Ali.
God will not place a burden on a man’s shoulders knowing that he cannot carry it.
Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?
I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong,
The greatest victory in life is to rise above the material things that we once valued most
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!
Ain’t no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it
Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn’t belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone
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 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 beI’m free to be what I want.
Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love
Politicians are always saying that they are in support of Iraqi citizens and now they are increasing the price of petrol. We were oppressed for 35 years. We are like a sick patient who is in need of care, and they are increasing prices
In a competition of love we’ll all share in the victory, no matter who comes first
Frazier soaked it all up like a sponge. When they arrived in Manila it was the same story. Ali poured scorn on his opponent. Humiliated him. Joe had the heart of a lion but verbally he was out of his depth when Ali got going. One time, as fight day approached, Ali spotted Frazier on a hotel balcony, grabbed a security guard’s gun and fired some rounds at him. Everybody knew it wasn’t live ammo but it still startled the hell out of Joe.] Go back in your hole, Gorilla, You gonna scare the people! Come out again and I’m gonna kill ya before time!”
The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years
God gave me this illness to remind me that I’m not Number One; He is.
I say get an education. Become an electrician, a mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer, anything but a fighter. In this trade, it’s the managers that make the money and last the longest.
They can boo me, yell at me, and throw peanuts at me, as long as they pay to get in.
When a chivalrous man makes an oath, he is faithful to it, and when he attains power, he spares his enemy.
What’s my greatest weakness? Sad stories, people with problems
Ali’s got a left, Ali’s got a right, if he hits you once, you’re asleep for the night
In the ring I can stay until I’m old and gray because I know how to hit and dance away
I should be a postage stamp. That’s the only way I’ll ever get licked!
Do you know why I’m the fastest heavyweight in the world? I’m the only heavyweight that trains underwater!
I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m fast, I’m pretty, and can’t possibly be beat. They must fall in the round I call.
There is one hell of a difference between fighting in the ring and going to war in Vietnam.
My mama told me I was already in a hurry as a child. I even had measles and chicken pox at the same time
I want fifteen referees at this fight…because there ain’t no one man who can keep up with the pace I’m gonna set except me
I have a radar built inside me to avoid punches
For the black man to come out superior would be against America’s teachings. 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’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 willingness with happiness, he added lots of faith, and he stirred 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.
There were so many fellows ranked over me I couldn’t just whoop them all. I had to out-shadow them by talking.
The outgoing and spontaneous person that the world knew while I was boxing was a persona that I created to sell tickets and promote my career. In my private life, I am quiet and reflective by nature.
The greater our level of understanding, the harder the tests become.
You may talk about Sweden, you may talk about Rome, but Rockville Center’s Floyd Patterson’s home. A lot of people said that Floyd couldn’t fight, but you should have seen him on the comeback night.
That’s okay, I’m still the Greatest.
Parkinson’s is my toughest fight. No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s hard to explain. I’m being tested to see if I’ll keep praying, to see if I’ll keep my faith. All great people are tested by God
The more we help others, the more we help ourselves
If I could meet anybody? The prophet Muhammad
Enjoy your children, even when they don’t act the way you want them to
Brooding over blunders is the biggest blunder
The world’s champ should be pretty like me!
His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.
I’m so fast I run through a hurricane and not get wet. George Foreman is gonna pay me a dept.
It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.
When I meet a new person, I don’t see race or religion. I look deeper. We must learn to satisfy our conflicts peacefully and to respect one another.
A man with no imaginations has no wings.
I am grateful for all my victories, but I am especially grateful for my losses, because they only made me work harder.
My toughest opponent has always been me.
During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing and a little showmanship. It was after I retired from boxing that my true work began.
To the people that have said I’m too small, I’m not fast enough, I don’t have what it takes, I’m not strong enough. THANK YOU
Elvis Presley was the sweetest, most humble and nicest man you’d want to know.
Outrun the people who quit when they feel discomfort, outrun the people who stop because of despair, outrun the people who are delayed because of prejudice, outrun the people who surrender to failure, and outrun the opponent who loses sight of the goal. Because if you want to win, the will can never retire, the race can never stop, and faith can never weaken.
Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall.
I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given.
I’m gonna show you how great I am.
I’m so mean I make medicine sick!
I’m too fast. I’m too smart. I’m too pretty.
Sonny Liston is great. But he’ll fall in eight.
I do need publicity but not for what I do for good. I need publicity for my book. I need publicity for my fights. I need publicity for my movie but not for helping people. Then it is no longer sincere.
If you are not the best, then pretend you are
True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.
I’ll tell you how I’d like to be remembered: As a black man who won the heavyweight title – Who has humorous and who never looked down on those who looked up to him – A man who stood for freedom, justice and equality – And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.
What counts in the ring is what you can do after you’re exhausted. The same is true of life.
Shut up, I know what I’m doing!
When I beat Sonny Liston, I shocked the world. When I joined the Muslims, I shocked the world. When I beat George Forman, I shocked the world. I am from the House of Shock
Some people have special resources inside, and when God blesses you to have more than others, you have a responsibility to use it right
It all started to come together when I realized that boxing was how I was going to succeed in life.
Whatever the challenge was, however unattainable the goal may have seemed, I never let anyone talk me out of believing in myself.
I tried to get into the mind of my opponent and psyche him out.
Every day is different, and some days are better than others, but no matter how challenging the day, I get up and live it.
It’s the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.
You don’t want no pie in the sky when you die, You want something here on the ground while you’re still around.
Every time I look in the mirror, I see that kid from Louisville, Kentucky, staring back at me. His name was Cassius Clay.
Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall. Some mountains are higher than others. Some roads steeper than the next. There are hardships and setbacks but you cannot let them stop you. Even on the steepest road you must not turn back.
Allah is the Greatest. I’m just the greatest boxer
Sometimes Howard [Cosell] makes me wish I was a dog and he was a fireplug.
Home is the place you can go when you’re whipped.
Why are they picking on boxing? It’s because the black men are so superior in boxing that they want to stop it. Well, the black man’s so hungry he’s got to fight.
Hittin’ hard don’t mean nothing if you don’t find nothin’ to hit.
Mr. president, I’ve been a citizen of the United States of America for thirty three years and was never invited to the White House. It sure gives me pleasure to be invited to the Black House.
When my title was taken away boxing died.
I can’t believe some of the things I did.Can’t believe it. Sayin’ I was the greatest and the beautifulist and I was gonna whup this guy and that guy, sayin’ I’m pretty, I can’t be beat.
I got it made the rest of my life, financially and in every other way. There’s nobody in the world like me. I’m getting out just in time. If I was twenty seven, I could still kick ass. I don’t have to beat Holmes. Why? I raised him, he worked three years as a sparring partner for me.
Being Ali’s doctor is somewhat like being gynacologist to the Queen of England. One does not have to do much to receive good press.
I’m the king of the world, I am the greatest, I’m Muhammed Ali, I shook up the world, I am the greatest, I’m king of the world, I’m pretty, I’m pretty, I’m a baaaad man, you heard me I’m a baaad man, Archie Moore fell in four, Liston wanted me more, so since he’s so great, I’m a make him fall in eight, I’m a baaad man, I’m king of the world! I’m 22 years old and ain’t gotta mark on my face, I’m pretty, I easily survived six rounds with that ugly bear, because I am the greatest.
Emmett Till and I were about the same age. A week after he was murdered… I stood on a corner with a gang of boys, looking at pictures of him in the black newspapers and magazines. In one, he was laughing and happy. In the other, his head was swollen and bashed in, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, and his mouth twisted and broken… I couldn’t get Emmett Till out of my mind, until one evening I thought of a way to get back at white people for his death.
Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.
The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they would’ have to draft me, I”d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I”ll go to jail, so what? We”ve been in jail for 400 years
What’s my greatest weakness? Sad stories, people with problems
Ali’s got a left, Ali’s got a right, if he hits you once, you’re asleep for the night
In the ring I can stay until I’m old and gray because I know how to hit and dance away
My face is so pretty, you do’ see a scar, which proves I’m the king of the ring by far.
I should be a postage stamp. That’s the only way I”ll ever get licked!
Do you know why I’m the fastest heavyweight in the world? I’m the only heavyweight that trains underwater!
I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m fast, I’m pretty, and ca’ possibly be beat. They must fall in the round I call.
I want fifteen referees at this fight…because there ai’ no one man who can keep up with the pace I’m gonna set except me
The world’s champ should be pretty like me!
I’m gonna show you how great I am.
I don’t look like no kiwi bird
I’m going to, not I’m gonna. Talk intelligent
No pork, soda pop, cigarettes, alcohol – ever!
Get up sucker and fight. Get up and fight
I’m gonna whup whoever stole my bike!
My definition of evil is unfriendliness
God works through people. It’s not me.
All I want now is to be a nice, clean gentleman. I’ve proved my point. Now I’m going to set an example for all the nice boys and girls. I’m through talking
When you’re right, nobody remembers. When you’re wrong, nobody forgets
Friendship is definitely the most difficult detail on the globe to elucidate. It is really not something you understand at school. But if you have not realized the which means of friendship, you truly have not realized anything.
Whether it’s boxing, basketball, or badminton, one must be ready to succeed before entering the arena…long before the lights come up.
The woman is the fiber of the nation. She is the producer of life. A nation is only as good as its women.
I’m pretty as a girl.
I’m definitely gonna be the People’s champion … but I just ain’t gonna be the champ the way you want me to be the champ. I’m gonna be the champ the way I wanna be.
I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me a << racial epithet >>.
Rest but never quit. Even the sun has a sinking spell each evening. But it always rises the next morning. At sunrise, every soul is born again.
I want to be the first black man on the moon
I’m the most recognised and loved man that ever lived
The world badly needs more peaceful and loving men like Sri Chinmoy. I am a Muslim and he is serving all people of peace. Sri Chinmoy is doing so much for the world, for people of all faiths, because of his own peace and faith.
I did not take the name, I just named myself Cassius Clay, this is a honorable, Mohammed Ali, given to me by my religious leader and teacher, the Honorable Elijah Mohammed, and I would like to say that Mohammed means in Arabic “one who is worthy of praise” and one praiseworthy, and Ali means the most High, but the slave name Clay meant dirt with no ingredients.
I would like to say that I am not an apostle of the Muslim religion.
We believe that the Honorable Elijah Mohammed is the apostle of Allah, God, but I’m only a helper and a minister of his.
I did not disregard my culture, if I did, it was the white American culture, and I accepted my true culture, when I accepted Mohammed Ali, because this is a black name, Islam is the black man’s religion, and so I would like to say, that I would like to clarify that point that I reclaimed my real culture, and that’s being a black man and wearing a black name with a black body, and not a white name, so I would never say that I didn’t disown my culture.
I would say that I put down a lot of the white American culture, and ways, and beliefs.
In Florida I was illiterate, Boxing Authority didn’t want me, then they had a special psychiatrist to come to Kentucky, they checked and they didn’t want me. But as soon as my name was Mohammed Ali, as soon as I announced I was a Muslim, then all of a sudden I became smart.
I have to be real cool and not savage and radical, because it makes me angry when I think about it when I see the white boys, who are really the number one citizens, the future rulers.
I was asked in a way when Honorable Elijah Mohammed said take the step, choose between the wealth of America and the millions of dollars and the title, the ministry. So, I chose the ministry. If I was not sincere, then I would have easily went to Vietnam, boxin’ exhibitions, and made a couple of cool million.
The Holy Koran, our religious book, teaches us, that we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, do not participate in no wars, in no way, fashion or form, that take the lives of other humans.
I’m relyin’ on Almighty God, Allah, and whatever happens happens.
We cannot change the Koran or make no modifications, this cannot be done, or it would no longer be holy.
We are not Black Muslims we are Muslims. You see, you have Catholics. You have Chinese Catholics, you have Indian Catholics, you have black Catholics and white Catholics. But I’m sure you don’t ask a man are you a white Catholic? Are you a Chinese are you a yellow Catholic, a red Catholic, or a white Catholic? He’s just a Catholic. We have black Muslims, we have brown Muslims, we have red Muslims, we have yellow Muslims, we have even white complected Muslims, so I’d like to clear that point, this is a press word, Black Muslims.
Islam religion has no color distinction, we are just Muslims.
Many people are quick to say that we are not recognized by Muslims in the East . And I start with the Honorable Elijah Mohammed. In 1959, he went throughout the Holy City of Mecca to dine and wine with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and all of the black, mainly the rulers of the Islamic countries.
Malcolm X got famous mainly by being hard on white people, white devils, blue-eyed blond-headed dogs.
I would like to say that whites jumped right behind Malcolm X. They’re makin’ a book about him, it’s required readin’ in all colleges now, and they’re makin’ a movie about him, and projectin’ him as the leader and if you read his book and see the movie that’s comin’ out, it’ll make you hate Elijah Mohammed and the Muslims. Mainly, this is done to turn the black people against the real leader and I’d like to say that this is the way white people rule.
Whites have always put one against another and now they have a dead man who was nothin’ but a, he admitted it himself, Malcolm X, was a tramp or had white women sellin’ their body for him, he was nothin’ until the Honorable Elijah Mohammed made him great, made him great, taught him, even his name X come from Elijah.
I barely got out of school, I got out of school, mainly, because I was a champ, and I actually didn’t pass. I won’t name the teachers that put me through, but I want. If I was not a Muslim, or a follower of the Honorable Elijah Mohammed I couldn’t talk to somebody for two minutes. I believe I can hold my own as an intelligent conversation, but it all come from the Honorable Elijah Mohammed.
You have a right to say what you believe, and I have a right.
White people cannot destroy me like they have other big ministers of Elijah Mohammed in the past by telling us oh, you speak good, you should be the leader.
Everything I got comes from Elijah Mohammed. He taught me who I was, he made me proud, he made me fearless, he made me love my own, I’ve turned down millions to keep from selling out my people, the beautiful name Mohammed Ali. And white people cannot destroy me like they have other big ministers of his in the past by telling us oh, you speak good, you should be the leader.White people make me thinkin’ that I’m smart, and as soon as I leave Elijah you can get me. But as long as I stay with the Honorable Elijah Mohammed I’m safe.
We followed the Honorable Elijah Mohammed, who is the boss. And we don’t waste a lot of time arguin’ about a dead black man, Malcolm X, when the whites are our common enemies.
Everything the black people are doing comes from the Honorable Elijah Mohammed. They are black now, they don’t want to be called Negroes. This come from the Honorable Elijah Mohammed.
To be a follower of The Honorable Elijah Mohammed, you have to completely extain from alcohol, or fornication, adultered, killin’, stealin’, lyin’. I would say that the people are not rejectin’ the Honorable Elijah Mohammed because they don’t believe what he teach.
I didn’t even need America, I was so popular outside the country, until the prosecutin’ attorney came from Washington, and said, judge, we cannot let this man go to Japan and fight, because they are anti-American.Now, if I want to leave the country, I know how to leave. Tomorrow. Quick. Easy. If I really want to leave. That’s not the intention. The intention is to stop me from makin’ a livin’. To punish me.
Black people we’ve been taught that we will never be free, until some will have to die, some will have to give up wealth, their loved ones, and their health, So, what I’m doin’ is for myself and for justice for black people, runnin’ will kill it all, it’ll make me a coward.
We black people, as a whole, are at war we’ll say with the white power structure. Not physically, but we have definite protests to win the battle.
Black people ALL are fightin’ you all for freedom, justice and equality. One believes that intermarriage is gonna solve it, and 200 years from now we all will be a beautiful cream color. He really believes it. One believe that gittin’ some rifles and shootin’ up the country is gonna solve it, another believes that education. One day we’ll be the president. One believe that we gotta git into the white man’s pockets and get all the money.
Martin Luther King was bumped off unjustly, Adam Clayton Powell was bumped off unjustly, they took my title unjustly, they killed Megers Ever unjustly, all the integrators who love white folks, was unjustly kicked out of Washington, they’ve been deprived of education and poverty throughout the country.
I would like to say boxing cannot compared with war. We have gloves on, we have cushions, we have referees, we have judges, we have ambulances there, the intention not to kill, we don’t have steel there, we don’t have bullets, we don’t kill momma, kill daddy, kill baby, our intention is a sport, and we’re not there to kill, so boxing cannot be compared in no way with machineguns and bombs and everything that used.
I’d like to say that Muslims are never in violence with white people. It’s the black man who love you. See, you don’t let him in your toilet, you don’t let him in your restroom, you don’t let him marry your daughter, you gotta fight. So, we’re not gonna be botherin’ you, you understand. Muslims don’t come in, we don’t have no trouble with you. It’s just the integrator.
Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing
No black man wants a blue-eyed black child, and no white man wants a kinky-haired white child. Nature didn’t mean it to be that way.
I have nothing to lose by standing up and following my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We have been in jail for years.
They say actually every time I enter the ring, in a way, I`m going to the war. They say to me daily, you are a prized fighter, what`s the difference? And I like to say to those critics of the press and the others that there is one hell of a lot of difference in fighting in a ring and going to war in Vietnam.
I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger.
Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round.
My new style on the ropes is called the ‘Rope-A-Dope.’
War on nations change maps. War on poverty maps change.
Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights.
I want to get out with my greatness intact.
Only the nose knows Where the nose goes When the door close.
This is the legend of Cassius Clay,
Archie’s been living off the fat of the land. I’m here to give him his pension plan. When you come to the fight don’t block the door. ‘Cause you’ll all go home after round four.
Ain’t no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.
That’s the only way you gonna save this sucker. He’s doomed.
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.
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.
I’m retiring because there are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.
Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wildlife.
Allah is the Greatest. I’m just the greatest boxer.
If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.
In a competition of love we’ll all share in the victory, no matter who comes first.
Since I won’t let the critics seal my fate, they keep hollering I’m full of hate. But they don’t really hurt me none, ’cause I’m doing good and having fun.
There live a great man named Joe who was belittled by a loudmouth foe. While his rival would taunt and tease Joe silently bore the stings. And then fought like gladiator in the ring.
It’s a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.
On my twelfth birthday, I got a new bicycle as a present from my folks, and I rode it to a fair that was being held at the Columbia Gymnasium, and when I come out, my bike was gone. I was so mad I was crying, and a policeman, Joe Martin, come up and I told him I was going to whip whoever took my bike. He said I ought to take some boxing lessons to learn how to whip the thief better, and I did. That’s when I started fighting.
Money and riches don’t mean nothing to me. I don’t care nothing about being no rich individual. I’m not living for glory or for fame; all this is doomed for destruction. You got it today, tomorrow it’s gone. I got bigger things on my mind than that. I got Islam on my mind.
The only way for peace between the races is a separation of the races.
I have more fans and more followers and more supporters. Because the people who actually saw the Joe Frazier Muhammad Ali fight, they saw me win at least nine rounds – the people who know boxing.
I still looked the same – I had a swollen jaw.
Joe Frazier is ugly. He has no rhythm, no footwork, no class, he cannot talk.
I think I could beat Joe Frazier singing. I was in a Broadway musical called Big Time Buck Wright.
I was in a Broadway musical called Big Time Buck Wright.The play didn’t make it but I was a success. It lasted six days but I sung four songs and there were critics, seriously, in New York who said that my part was perfect. So I can beat Joe Frazier singing.
People sold everything – their cars, their land for miles, to come in and see me beat. I went to the bank laughing every time.
I can remember a couple of real fights when I ran. Because they were kinda dangerous.
I didn’t run with a gang – I didn’t have time. There were a few little street gangs sitting in the spotlights at night time – talking and playing marbles. But I was so wrapped up in boxing since I was 12.
I was always at the gymnasium every day at six o’clock after school. In the mornings I would run, looking forward to future golden gloves and Olympic tournaments.
I had something to do, which most kids really need. Something they can look forward to – a goal, a purpose to work towards. Something to achieve. Keeps them out of trouble.
I was lucky, from the age of 12 I had boxing talent and was good for my age.
I said to myself, ‘the champion of the whole world can whoop every man in Russia, every man in America, every man in China, every man in Japan, every man in Europe – every man in the whole world’.It sounds big, didn’t it? So I kept working until I did it.
I don’t call myself a political figure but I’m taken to be.
I need to get everything straight. I’m not involved in a power struggle between black and white.
I’m not trying to get power over white. I’m involved in a freedom struggle. Not a power struggle.
We’re not trying to take power away or rule anybody – we’re just trying to get up from under the rulers.
How come the Chinese can go where I can’t go in America? Englishmen can come and set up a business in white America and do things I can’t do.The Puerto Rican, Hawaiians, just about everybody can do more than black people and are more respected.
If we were second class citizens we’d be driving old Cadillacs and living good. If we were first class we’d be driving a Rolls Royce.
Things are getting much better, but I always wondered when I went to church on Sundays. I’ve always been one to… I’m not just a boxer.
I do a lot of reading, a lot of studying. I ask questions, I’ll go out, travel these countries, I’ll watch how their people live, and I learn.
I always asked my mother, I said, ‘Momma, how come is everything white?’ I said, ‘Why is Jesus white with blond hair and blue eyes? Why is the Lord’s supper all white men? Angels are white, the Pope, Mary, and even the angels.’ I said, ‘Mother, when we die, do we go to Heaven?’ She said, ‘Naturally we go to Heaven.’ I said, ‘Well, what happened to all the black angels?’
I said, ‘Oh, I know. If the white folks is in Heaven too, then the black angels were in the kitchen, preparing the milk and honey.’
I was always curious. And I always wondered why I had to die to go to Heaven.
I was always curious. I always wondered why Tarzan is the King of the Jungle in Africa, he was white.
Miss America was always white. All the beautiful brown women in America, beautiful sun tans, beautiful shapes, all types of complexions, but she always was white.And Miss World was always white, and Miss Universe was always white.And the angel fruit cake was the white cake and the devil food cake was the chocolate cake.I said, ‘Momma, why is everything white?’ I always wondered. And the President lived in the White House.
Santa Claus was white and everything bad was black. The little ugly duckling was the black duck, and the black cat was the bad luck. And if I threaten you, I’m going to blackmail you.I said, ‘Momma, why don’t they call it ‘whitemail’? They lie too.’
I won the Olympic gold medal in Rome, Italy. Olympic champion. The Russian standing right here, and the Pole right here.
I just won the gold medal and I couldn’t eat downtown. I said, ‘Something’s wrong.’ And from then on, I’ve been a Muslim.
The teachings of Elijah Muhammad on how black people have been brainwashed.How they’ve been taught to love white and hate black, how we’ve been robbed of our names in slavery.We were robbed of our culture, we were robbed of our true history. So it left us a walking dead man.
You got black people in an all-white country and they don’t know nothing about themselves.
When I heard the truth about my name was not Cassius Clay, like I knew a black man in America named John Hawkins. Now, you know who John Hawkins was.He was a slave trader from England. But the white people of that time, if one had five slaves and his name was Jones, they would be called Jones’ property.Now that I’m free, now that I’m no longer a slave, then I want a name of my ancestors.
So when I heard that we don’t have our names, we don’t speak our true Arabic language, we were robbed of Islam, our true religion, and we’ve been made deaf, dumb, and blind in slavery.And Elijah Muhammad was taught by Allah, who we refer to as God, to teach us the truth that will free us.And when I heard it, I’ve been free ever since. I have no racial problems, I don’t go where I’m not wanted.
I’m proud, and Islam did it. And after these things that I heard in church, a preacher and watching this and that, I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t pinpoint it.
As soon as I heard the truth that Elijah Muhammad teaches us in America, it made me accept it.
Elijah Muhammad teaches us the truth of God beautified the planet by separating everybody in different countries for themselves: Chinese in China, English in England, Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico, Ethiopians in Ethiopia, Arabians in Arabia, Egyptians in Egypt, and Americans took that country and stole it away so there’s always going to be trouble and chaos.
In America they got two policemen, five policemen and one car watching each other, each has got a pistol, one has got a machine gun, one’ got a shotgun and two dogs growling at each other.
I understand that the worst people in England at a time were ran to America, for some reason. Then slavery came and calls of aggression. But we’ve been there 600 years and there ain’t no peace between black and whites because the cultures are different – like the Chinese and Mexicans cannot integrate: the music is different, the eating is different.
The most powerful military country in the world, America – which makes all the guns, all the machinery, all the bullets – taught us how to shoot the guns.
It’s impossible for 30 million black people to be violent against 170 million – we need a mental revolution, unity in coming together, and not physical.
I’m sure no intelligent white person in his or her right white mind, want black men and women marrying their white sons and daughters and in return introducing their grandchildren to half brown, kinky haired black people.
I don’t see no black and white couples in England or America walking around proud holding their children and going out.
I have a beautiful daughter, beautiful wife.They look like me, we all happy and I don’t have no trouble. And I ain’t that much in love with no woman to go through that hell – ain’t no one woman that good.
It’s ain’t sad that I want my child to look like me? Every intelligent person wants their child to look like him.
I’m sad because I want to bow out of my race and leave my beautiful identity? Chinese love Chinese. They love their little slant eyed, pale brown skinned babies. Pakistanis love their culture.Jewish people love their culture. A lot of Catholics want to marry Catholics because the want their religion to stay the same.
Who would thought only of themselves and kill their race? You would hate other people if you don’t want to stay who you are.
No woman on this whole earth can please me and cook for me and socialise and talk to me like my American black woman.
You can’t take no Chinese man and give him no Puerto Rican woman and talking like they’re in love and emotionally in love and physically.
You can do what you want. But it’s nature to be with your own. I want to be with my own.
I love my people and I don’t hate nobody and it keeps me out of trouble.
If the white man ain’t the devil, he’s been aiming at the history of the Americans.
So now I’m going to forget the 400 years of lynching and killing raping and depriving my people feeding of justice and equality and the lowest of low last respect and I’m going to look at two or three white people who are trying to do right and don’t see the other million who are trying to kill me? I’m not that big of a fool.
Get up and say Elijah Muhammad is wrong when he says white are the devil? They have to prove they are not the devil.
There ain’t no such thing as black Muslims. That’s how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world and divide us in America and make other Muslims think that we are not with them.We are all the same. I recognise them and they recognise me. I’m invited to all of their homes all over the world and I’m invited to Muslim countries.
I think we’re all brothers – that’s the truth. But the press gave us the name black Muslims to cut us off from the others.
I believe in the holy Koran. It says we declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims and do not take part in wars, or in no way fashion or form take the lives of humans unless it’s a holy war declared by God himself.
A lot of wars are fought between black and whites daily in America.But if it’s something I want to be with, the people who started it were black, I wouldn’t not get in it.
If some black man go out and start something, a riot or something or, I’m not going to jump in it and get killed because he’s gone out and started something I don’t believe in what he’s fighting for or his approach.
Floyd Paterson? Boy, he’s the complete opposite to me. He no way like me.They go down in history for just being athletes. I’m getting more praise and credit for doing what I’m doing now on this show than coming here and beating five of your English champions.
Floyd Paterson and other fighters, they just don’t take part.They make a million dollars, they get a Rolls Royce and a nice home and a white wife and think, ‘well, I made it’.
When one man of popularity can let the world know the problem, he might lose a few dollars himself. He might lose his life. But he’s helping millions.
If I kept my mouth shut, because I can make millions, that isn’t doing nothing.
I can love freedom and the flesh and blood of my people moreso than I do the money.
This boldness in telling the truth overshadows sport greatly. You couldn’t get Joe Frazier or no boxer on this show and get interest in a subject like this. He couldn’t talk about it.
Life is like a ship. There’s people dancing on a ship.There’s a lot of money on the ship, but I cannot integrate on the ship or get equality on the ship.And I never could. I’m just in the galley working and I never could get up to see the captain of the ship.
Black men – one might be the president. Well, America’s in too much trouble – I don’t want that job now.
I don’t consider myself no attractive man. People like Tom Jones and Elvis Presley – I’m not nothing like that.
I just try to stay half way decent looking. Boxing’s a rough sport and you get hit a lot.
I tell you what I really fear. I fear aeroplanes. When the flight’s all right and smooth I’m still thinking, ‘what if the engine blow up?’ ‘What if a fool’s got a bomb on it?’
I’ve been on planes flying through thunder storms when the pilot says, ‘ladies and gentlemen, we tried to fly around it but we can’t so it’s going to be rough’.And when a pilot says it’s going to be bad, it’s going to be rough. And you say to youself, boy, I could have got the train.
I make predictions about what I’m going to do before a fight, that makes me nervous because I’ve gotten so good at it until people really look for me to do it.If I say the man’s going to fall in round five, like your man Henry Cooper here, he was stopped in round five but it was on a cut – it wasn’t because he was out.But usually ‘m on the spot with my predictions and some people really gamble and bet money on the rounds I say.
Sometimes I feel a lot of things but I keep it in. I’m sure we all have this built-in radar of what we predict and when it happens, we feel ‘I knew it’.
I’m not going to be that kind of a fighter. I’m going to dance and be pretty. I’m just going to win on points.And if I hurt my man I’m going to let him go and I’m not going to kill him just because somebody’s watching.
I just can’t see myself with a man on the ropes and just to prove how bad I am – and I see in his eyes, his head, he’s hopeless – and I’m just deliberately hitting. I don’t do that.
When I was a kid I got mad enough to want to kill somebody but as you travel the world and I’m struggling with a freedom fight against nations, you can’t get enough hate in you to be mad at one man just because it’s a boxing match.Never. Even Floyd Paterson, who condemned my Islamic religion and didn’t want to call me Muhammad Ali and said I should’ve gone to the army and I should be in jail.
Frank Sinatra told Floyd Paterson how he should whoop me. Frank Sinatra.
I had my style of moving and dancing and whatever I do. What you have to do, is take all the fighters you want and me and rank me where you want. I can’t tell you.
Boxing is a stepping stone just to introduce me to the audience. If I was still in Louisville, Kentucky and never was a boxer I still might get killed next week in some kind of freedom struggle and you’d ever hear the news.
Now, if I even say the wrong thing I make the news.
Boxing is just to introduce me to the struggle. Like, when I speak I draw people in the States to teach them various things or to give them dignity, pride and self-help. I have to help the dope and prostitution problem.
My main fight is for freedom and equality.
Boxing is good for the livelihood but mainly, money don’t really mean nothing.
I didn’t deny nothing I believe. I’m still the same everything.
Even today, if my title hadn’t been given back to me and I was in such poverty where I had to go and find a job, I would have done that.
Number one comes freedom first for my people and equality. And this is what I plan to do after I’m through fighting – working with nothing but the people, the little people in the alleys: the downtrodden people, going out and helping them with my image.
The same people that are with me for not going to Vietnam because I saved them and their children.The same people will give me hell if I turn to them and say, ‘let’s free my people now’.They’re with me on one part of my beliefs about the war, that’s all. Not for my freedom.
Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over.
Where do you think I’d be next week if I didn’t know how to shout and holler and make the public take notice? I’d be poor and I’d probably be down in my home town, washing windows or running an elevator and saying “yes suh” and “no suh” and knowing my place. Instead, I’m one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Think about that.
Just remember that you don’t have to be what they want you to be.
A long time ago, I took a walk down a street in Harlem in New York City. I came upon a man who asked me for a dollar. He had asked a few other people before me, but they only passed him by without glancing his way. I stopped and handed the man some money. As I began to turn away, he reached out and shook my hand. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I will bless you.” Now, I’m not saying that was God Himself. But how do we know that it wasn’t someone working for him, walking around in disguise, just to see what we would do?
I hated the sight on TV of big, clumsy, lumbering heavyweights plodding, stalking each other like two Frankenstein monsters, clinging, slugging toe to toe. I knew I could do it better … circle, dance, shuffle, hit and move … make an art out of it.
We are all God’s people. We are prejudiced and we separate into Jews, Mexicans, Italians, but God doesn’t see colors.
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.
Women are the field that produces our nation. And if you can’t protect your women, you can’t protect your nation.
My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I am alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.
I need to be famous so I can talk about religion. I can talk about God. It’s an expensive price that I have to pay to be the most famous man on earth and I do it with pleasure only for God. My fight is only and introduction to the real fight, the one for God. Fighting by itself doesn’t interest me anymore. I want to help people, the black people and I need any kind of media to spread my thought: God, charity, peace.
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.
Christians are my brothers, Hindus are my brothers, all of them are my brothers. We just think different and believe different.
There live a great man named Joe / who was belittled by a loudmouth foe / While his rival would taunt and tease / Joe silently bore the stings / And then fought like gladiator in the ring
Last night I had a dream. When I got to Africa, I had one hell of a rumble. I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first, for claiming to be King of the Jungle.
If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.
Before I became a Muslim, I ate pork and chased women-but all that stuff stopped.
I tried to be the greatest boxer in the world and a good parent, too. I had instant feedback on my success as a boxer. Often, parents don’t really know if what they are doing is right or wrong until their child is grown and it is too late to change any of the decisions. Whatever my failings as a parent, I am very proud of all my children. It wasn’t easy for them to make their own way with such a controversial and public father.
When I was 9, I saw a wrestler on television named Gorgeous George. He said, “I’m beautiful. I’m so pretty that if a sucker touches my face, I’ll kill him. If he messes with my hair, I’ll pummel him.” I said to myself, “That’s a good idea. I am the greatest, I’m pretty.” And then I took it a little further than he did.
I can’t see what God’s plan is. I just know I’ve got to live with it.
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’m not into fashion at all. I always wear the same thing: dark suits. I don’t even know where I get them.
Hell no / I ain’t going to go / Clean out my cell / And take my tail / To jail / Without bail / Because it’s better there eating / Watching television fed / Than in Vietnam with your white folks dead.
I’m the greatest fighter in the entire world, how can I be afraid? I love people and people love me.
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
Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.
Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.
Put yourself out on a limb, sucka, like me! – young Cassius Clay to heavily favored thug Sonny Liston during the weigh in before Cassius wins his first title and changes his name to Muhammad Ali.
I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.
Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all.
You lose nothing when fighting for a cause … In my mind the losers are those who don’t have a cause they care about.
Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in 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.
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.
The word ‘Islam’ means ‘peace.’ The word ‘Muslim’ means ‘one who surrenders to God.’ But the press makes us seem like haters.
My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.
Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams – they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths.
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.
The man who has no imagination has no wings.
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.
If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.
It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.
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.
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.
A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
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.
It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
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.
It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
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.
I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.
I’m just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence.
If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you – until you get your revenge.
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.’
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.
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.
It’s not bragging if you can back it up.
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.
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.
It’s hard to be humble, when you’re as great as I am.
Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.
If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
What keeps me going is goals.
I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I’m in a world of my own.
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 way of joking is to tell the truth. That’s the funniest joke in the world.
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.
I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won.
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.
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.
Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
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.
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.
No one knows what to say in the loser’s locker room.
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?
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.
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 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.
I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round.
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.
There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.
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.’
Old age is just a record of one’s whole life.
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.
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 toughest fight was with my first wife.
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.
Superman don’t need no seat belt.
Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.
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.
Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.
I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.
There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.
All black Americans have slave names. They have white names; names that the slave master has given to them.
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.
All of us are so mixed. My great-grandfather was white.
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.
Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.
Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the U.S. Bureau of Wild Life.
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.
When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.
I had to prove you could be a new kind of black man. I had to show 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.
I’ll beat him so bad he’ll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.
I said I was ‘The Greatest,’ I never said I was the smartest!
You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foreman’s behind.
Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.
What you’re thinking is what you’re becoming.
To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.
I’m a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.
There’s nothing wrong with getting knocked down, as long as you get right back up.
Joe Frazier got hit more than me – and he doesn’t have Parkinson’s.
Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life.
Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place for all…
If my fans think I can do everything I say I can do, then they’re crazier than I am. After one of his fight predictions turned out to be wrong.
They used to draw cartoons of Jews in Germany. Later they started killing them in the Holocaust.
Champions come and go, but to be legendary you got to have heart, more heart than the next man, more than anyone in the world.
Others may know pleasure, but pleasure is not happiness. It has no more importance than a shadow following a man.
I’m the fastest thing on two feet.
I am the king of the world. I’m a man’s man.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
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.
I’m gonna show you how great I am.
It’s hard to beat a guy when he’s got his mind made up that he’s going to win.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.
The one without dreams is the one without wings.
I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. Don’t tell me I can’t do something. Don’t tell me it’s impossible. Don’t tell me I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest.
Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.
My face is so pretty, you don’t see a scar, which proves I’m the king of the ring by far.
Champions have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
I outwit them, and then I outhit them
The sun is always shining someplace
It isn’t the mountains that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.
