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 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.

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

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.

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

Everything I do has a purpose, all of God's beings have a purpose. Others may know pleasure, but pleasure is not happiness. It has no more importance than a shadow following a man.

There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.

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

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

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams. They have different names but all contain water. Religions have different names, but all contain truth.

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.

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.

I don't always know what I'm talking about but I know I'm right.

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

I've seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won.

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

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

When you're as great as I am, it's hard to be humble.

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

My toughest fight was with my first wife.

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

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because theyre the only ones that count.

If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.

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

The man who has no imagination has no wings.