![]() ![]() “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was. Mostly, the reason for this is that he was a man who spoke directly from his heart and fought strongly and with conviction for whatever he believed in.Īli could have had no boxing skills at all and I still believe that he would have been a world champion, as it was his mind that held the real power and strength. Since as far back as I can remember I resonated strongly with Ali. ![]() His spirit has inspired me throughout my life and his genius and remarkable thinking has left a profound imprint on me. Muhammad Ali was a sharp, graceful, fascinating, captivating, intriguing, passionate, charismatic and magnetic man. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.” ~ Muhammad Ali ![]() As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him…who stood up for his beliefs…who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love.Īnd if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. Ironically, he also said, “I don’t like fighters who talk too much.“I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right. “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” “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. “Live every day like it’s your last because someday you’re going to be right.” “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” “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.” “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” If it wasn’t for me, the game would be dead.” “I’m a poet, I’m a prophet, I’m the resurrector, I’m the savior of the boxing world. “Not only do I knock’em out, I pick the round.” “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” ‘If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize.’ “It will be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila.”Īli took the art of talking himself up to new levels, reminding rivals that there was only one king of the ring. The following year, Ali used another play on words to promote he predicted the pummeling of Joe Frazier at the “Thrilla in Manila.” I’m so mean I make medicine sick,” he said to laughs ahead of his famous “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman in 1974. “I wrestled with an alligator, I tussled with a whale, I handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail, I’m bad man….Last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. The phrase was often repeated to describe his style in the ring, and became shorthand for the man who considered himself “The Greatest” before the rest of the world cottoned on. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.” “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Perhaps his most famous quote was made when he was a precocious 22-year old about to take on world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Muhammad Ali was quick with his fists but he also knew the power of words to unsettle his rivals. (Photo by Tim Graham/Evening Standard/Getty Images) 2nd December 1974: World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali addressing a Nation of Islam meeting at the New Victoria Theatre in London. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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