“I love my people and I don't hate nobody and it keeps me out of trouble.”
“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'm the fastest thing on two feet.”
“The one without dreams is the one without wings.”
“I wasn't thinking of being the greatest. But I knew I had a chance.”
“There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
“I can love freedom and the flesh and blood of my people moreso than I do the money.”
“I'm the greatest fighter in the entire world, how can I be afraid? I love people and people love me.”
“I'm the best. I just haven't played yet.”
“Whoever listens to slander is himself a slanderer.”
“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.”
“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.”
