I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'
Muhammad Ali
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
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.
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.
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.
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.
It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.
The man who has no imagination has no wings.
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 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.
Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.
If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.
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 just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.
It's not bragging if you can back it up.
Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.
Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.
My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.
I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.
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.
What keeps me going is goals.
If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
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.
It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.
My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.
I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.
Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.
My principles are more important than the money or my title.
There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.
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.
No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.
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.
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.
I've seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won.
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 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.
Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.
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 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.
I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.
