Muhammad Ali > Quotes

“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.”
― Muhammad Ali

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it.”
― Muhammad Ali, The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
― Muhammad Ali

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

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
― Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times

“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

“The man with no imagination has no wings.”
― Muhammad Ali

“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 the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
― Muhammad Ali

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Don't count the days, make the days count.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong.”
― Muhammad Ali

“The Service you do for others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
― Muhammad Ali

“You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.”
― Muhammad Ali

“What you're thinking is what you're becoming.”
― Muhammad Ali

“I'm a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I'm no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won't hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.”
― Muhammad Ali, The Greatest My Own Story

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
― Muhammad Ali

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life”
― Muhammad Ali

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

“Others may know pleasure, but pleasure is not happiness. It has no more importance than a shadow following a man.”
― Muhammad Ali

“If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.”
― Muhammad Ali

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

“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are”
― Muhammad Ali

“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.”
― Muhammad Ali

“It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all.”
― Muhammad Ali

“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace. ”
― Muhammad Ali

“It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Often it isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the little pebble in your shoe.”
― Muhammad Ali

“I am the greatest.”
― Muhammad Ali

“I'm the greatest, I'm a bad man, and I'm pretty!”
― Muhammad Ali, Ali! Ali!: The Words of Muhammed Ali.

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.”
― Muhammad Ali

“What keeps me going is goals.”
― Muhammad Ali

“The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.”
― Muhammad Ali

“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.”
― 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

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Superman don't need no seat belt.”
― Muhammad Ali

“It's not bragging if you can back it up.”
― Muhammad Ali

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

“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.”
― Muhammad Ali

“There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people”
― Muhammad Ali

“Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.”
― Muhammad Ali

“Go to College,
Stay in school,
If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread,
they can sure make something out of you.”
― Muhammad Ali

“This is the legend of Cassius Clay,
The most beautiful fighter in the world today.
He talks a great deal, and brags indeed-y,
of a muscular punch that's incredibly speed-y.
The fistic world was dull and weary,
But with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then someone with color and someone with dash,
Brought fight fans are runnin' with Cash.
This brash young boxer is something to see
And the heavyweight championship is his des-tin-y.
This kid fights great; he’s got speed and endurance,
But if you sign to fight him, increase your insurance.
This kid's got a left; this kid's got a right,
If he hit you once, you're asleep for the night.
And as you lie on the floor while the ref counts ten,
You’ll pray that you won’t have to fight me again.
For I am the man this poem’s about,
The next champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
This I predict and I know the score,
I’ll be champ of the world in ’64.
When I say three, they’ll go in the third,
10 months ago

So don’t bet against me, I’m a man of my word.
He is the greatest! Yes!
I am the man this poem’s about,
I’ll be champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
Here I predict Mr. Liston’s dismemberment,
I’ll hit him so hard; he’ll wonder where October and November went.
When I say two, there’s never a third,
Standin against me is completely absurd.
When Cassius says a mouse can outrun a horse,
Don’t ask how; put your money where your mouse is!
I AM THE GREATEST!”
― Muhammad Ali

“Allah is the Greatest. I'm just the greatest boxer”
― Muhammad Ali

“I Ain't Got No Quarrel With The VietCong...No VietCong Ever Called Me Nigger.”
― Muhammad Ali

“I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.”
― Muhammad Ali