“It's in my blood to be around people while I was training.”
“The show was bad, but I was great”
“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.”
“That's okay, I'm still the Greatest.”
“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'm too fast. I'm too smart. I'm too pretty.”
“The more we help others, the more we help ourselves”
“The bull is stronger, but the matador is smarter.”
“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.”
“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'.”
“People sold everything - their cars, their land for miles, to come in and see me beat. I went to the bank laughing every time.”
“The man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“I started out making $4 for my first fight, but imagine paying $25,000 for a painting...look at me!”
“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”
“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.”
“You can do what you want. But it's nature to be with your own. I want to be with my own.”
“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.'”
“In Ali change creation faith growth hope humor life living Muhammad Ali transformation wonderIf they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”
“True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.”
“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.”
“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.”
“The will must be stronger than the skill.”
“To succeed,all I need to do is suffer.”
“It's hard to beat a guy when he's got his mind made up that he's going to win.”
“You got black people in an all-white country and they don't know nothing about themselves.”