Muhammad Ali born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed “the Greatest”, he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century and is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.[6][7][8] He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970.
He was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979.
In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.
Quotes
“When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.”
“Put yourself out on a limb, sucka, like me!”
“I’m so fast I could hit you before God gets the news.”
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”
“What’s my greatest weakness? Sad stories, people with problems.”
“Wisdom is knowing when you can’t be wise.”
“If you love God, tear out your heart’s love of the world.”
“My main purpose is to pray five times a day. And that’s not easy.”
“Catching flies is better training than hitting the speed bag.”
“Frazier’s got two chances. Slim, and none. And Slim just left town.”
“The Service you do for 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.”
“Just remember that you don’t have to be what they want you to be.”
“There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.”
“The one thing I don’t understand is war.”
“Prejudice comes from being in the dark; sunlight disinfects it.”
“I never push in front my muscles, only my religion, so I’m protected.”
“What I’ve found is that the religion that matters, the real religion is love.”
“Children make you want to start life over.”
“I was saying “I’m the greatest” long before I believed it.”
“No one starts out on top. You have to work your way up.”
“Sonny Liston is great. But he’ll fall in eight.”
“People will know you’re serious when you produce.”
“We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.”
“Old age is just a record of one’s whole life.”
“My toughest opponent has always been me.”
“It’s hard to be humble, when you’re as great as I am.”
“I’m most proud of my family.”
“My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.”
“I run on the road long before I dance under the lights.”
“I said I was the greatest, not the smartest.”
“I’ve never let anyone talk me into not believing in myself.”
“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
“All of us are so mixed. My great-grandfather was white.”
“Whoever listens to slander is himself a slanderer.”
“The greater our level of understanding, the harder the tests become.”
“Not to commit faults counts for more than to do good.”
“My definition of evil is unfriendliness.”
“I have a radar built inside me to avoid punches.”
“No one knows what to say in the loser’s locker room.”
“That’s okay, I’m still the Greatest.”
“I called my training camp Fighter’s Heaven.”
“I’ll destroy you. I am the master of disaster.”
“I shook up the world.”
“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
“The bull is stronger, but the matador is smarter.”
“I’m the most recognised and loved man that ever lived.”
“The roughest and toughest fighter I fought was Joe Frazier.”
“When you’re right, nobody remembers. When you’re wrong, nobody forgets.”
“Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.”
“A man who views the world the same…”
“We can’t be brave without fear.”
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
“I just felt the power and the meanness of the man I was messing with.”
“What you’re thinking is what you’re becoming.”
“It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”
“If you are not the best, then pretend you are.”
“Get up sucker and fight. Get up and fight.”
“Some gems for the greatest of them all.”
“I only read the Holy Koran, the Bible and the sports pages.”
“Stay away from the ropes.”
“There’s nothing wrong with getting knocked down, as long as you get right back up.”
“The sun is always shining someplace.”
“God gave me Parkinson’s syndrome to show me I’m not ‘The Greatest’ – he is.”
“I just give lip service to being the greatest. He was the greatest.”
“If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.”
“Ain’t no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.”
“Enjoy your children, even when they don’t act the way you want them to.”
“There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
“You know I hate fighting. If I knew how to make a living some other way, I would.”
“His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”
“My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love, and spirituality.”
“I outwit them, and then I outhit them.”
“The worst man is the one who sees himself as the best.”
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.”
“Brooding over blunders is the biggest blunder.”
“I’m the greatest, I’m a bad man, and I’m pretty!”
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”
“Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.”
“When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.”
“We are stone enemies when the bell rings.”
“I’ll beat him so bad he’ll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.”
“The more we help others, the more we help ourselves.”
“I don’t always know what I’m talking about, but I know I’m right.”
“True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.”
“Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all.”
“What keeps me going is goals.”
“There’s nothing stressful about turning 50 except people reminding you about it.”
“Eat your words! Eat your words! I am the greatest.”
“Now you see me, now you don’t. George thinks he will, but I know he won’t!”
“If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don’t ask how. Hitch him up.”
“I don’t count my situps. I only start counting once it starts hurting.”
“There’s a reason I’m known – to bring people to Allah, to God.”
“The only way for peace between the races is a separation of the races.”
“When my title was taken away boxing died.”
“I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given.”
“I’m going to show you how great I am!”
“True giving happens when we give from our heart.”
“Shut up, I know what I’m doing!”
“My way of joking is to tell the truth. That’s the funniest joke in the world.”
“The man with no imagination has no wings.”
“The show was bad, but I was great.”
“My toughest fight was with my first wife.”
“He’s too ugly to be the champ!”
“Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.”
“The one without dreams is the one without wings.”
“War on nations changes maps. War on poverty maps change.”
“I’m going to, not I’m gonna. Talk intelligent.”
“The world’s champ should be pretty like me!”
“If I could meet anybody? The prophet Muhammad.”
“Death is the tax the soul has to pay for having a name and a form.”
“I don’t know what truculent means, but if it’s good, it’s me.”
“I’m the best. I just haven’t played yet.”
“I’m too fast. I’m too smart. I’m too pretty.”
“This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction.”
“God works through people. It’s not me.”
“The only limitations one has, are the ones they place on themselves.”
“God will not place a burden on a man’s shoulders knowing that he cannot carry it.”
“Impossible is nothing.”
“I’m gonna whup whoever stole my bike!”
“I can’t see what God’s plan is. I just know I’ve got to live with it.”
“It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”
“I tried to get into the mind of my opponent and psyche him out.”
“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”
“Love is a net that catches hearts like a fish.”
“Be obedient to your superior, and your inferior will obey you.”
“I’m The Greatest, but only in relation to fighting.”
“Who’s gonna dare to be great?”
“Fifty years old, 212 fights, and I’m still pretty.”
“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”
“I am the greatest.”
“When people are forced to interact to survive, their prejudices diminish.”
“I was the first one in the gym, and the last one to leave.”
“I’m so mean I make medicine sick!”
“The man who will whip me will be fast, strong and hasn’t been born yet.”
“Home is the place you can go when you’re whipped.”
“I wasn’t thinking of being the greatest. But I knew I had a chance.”
“The sweetness of life lies in dispensing with formalities.”
“No pork, soda pop, cigarettes, alcohol – ever!”
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.”
“Whoever knocks persistently, ends by entering.”