Boxer Quotes

“I just give lip service to being the greatest. He was the greatest.”

“Boxing is good for the livelihood but mainly, money don't really mean nothing.”

“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.”

“Tolerance and understanding won't 'trickle down' in our society any more than wealth does.”

“Be loud, be pretty and keep their black-hatin' asses in their chairs”

“Old age is just a record of one's whole life.”

“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 don't always know what I'm talking about, but I know I'm right.”

“The only way for peace between the races is a separation of the races.”

“I'd like to live to a hundred.”

“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.”

“Ever since I first came here in 1963 to fight Henry Cooper, I have loved the people of England.”

“Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step.”

“There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.”

“Oh! how the hours hasten to change into days, the days into months, the months into years, and those into life's annihilation!”

“If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.”

“My principles are more important than the money or my title.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Just remember that you don't have to be what they want you to be.”

“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.”

“The sweetness of life lies in dispensing with formalities.”

“When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.”

“If America were in a just war I'd volunteer for the front line. I'd do the shuffling and win the war.”