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.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

Superman don't need no seat belt.

I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.

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.

It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.

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.

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

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.

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

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.

To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.

My toughest fight was with my first wife.

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

When you are as great as I am it is hard to be humble.

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.

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 not bragging if you can back it up.

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.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

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.

Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life.

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

What keeps me going is goals.

If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.

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'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.

It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.

We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.

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

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.

I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better 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.

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

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