Muhammad Ali Quotes
Muhammed Ali Quotes
He was more than just another boxer. He was a charismatic icon and a sports legend. Muhammad Ali (commonly mispelled as "Muhammed Ali") is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers the sport has ever known. But he was not just quick in the ring. He had an equally quick mind and came up with some really memorable quotes. As a social activist during his years, he made many statements that were later coined as Muhammad Ali quotes. The media and public latched onto these Ali quotes which seemed to define Muhammad Ali not just as an athlete but as a man. Al throughout his career and after retirement, he has come up with some famous Muhammad Ali quotes. It was these quotes that helped to make his mark in popular culture. Many of the Muhammad Ali quotes here are not just about the sport of boxing but also about wisdom in life.
“I knew I had him in the first round. Almighty God was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to God everyday. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!”
“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.”
“When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble.”
“My toughest fight was with my first wife.”
“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.”
“Ain't no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.”
“If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.”
“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
“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.”
“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”
“It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
“I'll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.”
“I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.”
“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.”
“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.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
“I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.”
“Religions all have different names, but they all contain the same truths. ... I think the people of our religion should be tolerant and understand people believe different things.”
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
“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.”
“I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over - like the Kennedys down in Washington.”
“I'm retiring because there are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
“Champions aren´t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.”
“Superman don't need no seat belt.”
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.”
“I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.”
“Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.”
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”
“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.”
“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.”
“It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”
“People don't realize what they had till it's gone. Like President Kennedy - nobody like him. Like The Beatles, there will never be anything like them. Like my man, Elvis Presley - I was the Elvis of boxing.”
“I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
“Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”
“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.”
“I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.”
“I'd like for them to say he took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, one tablespoon, teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern, and then, he mix willlingness with happiness, he added lots of faith, and he stired it up well, then he spreads it over his span of a lifetime, and he served it to each and every deserving person he met.”
“It's not bragging if you can back it up.”
“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 lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”
“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.”
“Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.”
“I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.”
“I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.”
“When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.”
“Love is a net that catches hearts like a fish.”
“My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.”
“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.”
“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”
“We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.”
“No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.”
“Old age is just a record of one's whole life.”
“Give up what appears to be doubtful for what is certain. Truth brings peace of mind, and deception doubt.”
All of the interviews and articles during his career sparked some famous Muhammad Ali quotes. He was constantly challenging traditional and conservative views during a very tumultuous time in America. Ali quotes were not just about his greatness in the ring (although some of the more famous Muhammad Ali quotes were about his prowess), they were about social acceptance between races and religions. For someone who made a living out of beating up people, Muhammad Ali was known for promoting peace and love among the people who knew him best.