Quotes by Muhammad Ali

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

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

"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."

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

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

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

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

"I'm just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence."

"The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters."

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

"My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am."

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

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

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

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

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

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

"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."

"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. When I joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, they gave me the most famous name because I was the champ."

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

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"Terrorists are not following Islam. Killing people and blowing up people and dropping bombs in places and all this is not the way to spread the word of Islam. So people realize now that all Muslims are not terrorists."

"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."

"Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change."

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."

"I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."

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

"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."

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

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

"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."