MUHAMMAD ALI QUOTES III
American boxer (1942- )
Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, "Ali's Quotes", BBC Sport: Boxing, Jan. 17, 2007
To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, A Season in Words: A Coach's Guide to Motivation from the Preseason to the Postseason
I sought advice and cooperation from those around me--but not permission.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, A Season in Words: A Coach's Guide to Motivation from the Preseason to the Postseason
Over the years my religion has changed and my spirituality has evolved. Religion and spirituality are very different, but people often confuse the two. Some things cannot be taught, but they can be awakened in the heart. Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn't belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.
MUHAMMAD ALI
The Soul of a Butterfly
I love boxing and it did a lot for me. But sometimes it made me think how savage human beings could be to each other. That wasn't the kind of boxer I wanted to be. My strategy was to be as scientific as I could when I fought. I didn't want to be seriously hurt, and I didn't want to do that to anybody else either.
MUHAMMAD ALI
The Soul of a Butterfly
The outgoing and spontaneous person that the world knew while I was boxing was a persona that I created to sell tickets and promote my career. In my private life, I am quiet and reflective by nature.
MUHAMMAD ALI
The Soul of a Butterfly
Rocky doesn't act nothing like me. Apollo Creed, the way he dances, the way he jabs, the way he talks.... That's me.
MUHAMMAD ALI
interview with Roger Ebert, "Watching Rocky II With Muhammad Ali"
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.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, Book of African-American Quotations
I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road.
MUHAMMAD ALI
The Soul of a Butterfly
Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the U.S. Bureau of Wildlife.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, "Ali's Quotes", BBC Sport: Boxing, Jan. 17, 2007
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.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing
I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I'm so great I don't have a mark on my face. I shook up the world.
MUHAMMAD ALI
after defeating Sonny Liston for the first time, Feb. 25, 1964
No boxer in the history of boxing has had Parkinson's. There's no injury in my brain that suggests that the illness came from boxing.
MUHAMMAD ALI
O Magazine, Jun. 2001
While Frazier was a man of few words / Ali was a world of mouth / but he found his place in history / Now his heart can express him well / Joe Frazier was a silent warrior / whom Ali silently admired / One could not rise without the other
MUHAMMAD ALI
poem dedicated to Joe Frazier, "The Silent Warrior"
The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world--Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon--there are more Muhammads than anything else.
MUHAMMAD ALI
O Magazine, Jun. 2001
I'm the greatest fighter in the entire world, how can I be afraid? I love people and people love me.
MUHAMMAD ALI
"New Again: Muhammad Ali", Interview Magazine
Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn't choose it and I don't want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free man -- it means "Beloved of God" -- and I insist people use it in speaking of and to me.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, Book of African-American Quotations
I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.
MUHAMMAD ALI
attributed, A Season in Words: A Coach's Guide to Motivation from the Preseason to the Postseason
A real boxer can see Stallone's not a boxer. He's not professional, doesn't have the moves. It's good acting, but it's not boxing. Look in the background. Look at that guy in the red trunks back there. You can see he's a real fighter.
MUHAMMAD ALI
interview with Roger Ebert, "Watching Rocky II With Muhammad Ali"
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.
MUHAMMAD ALI
comment after losing to Ken Norton, Mar. 31, 1973