To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the U.S.A. won the medal of gold. The Greeks said, 'You're better than the Cassius of old.'

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.

My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, 'The Intoxication of Life,' 'The Purpose of Life,' 'The Real Cause of Man's Distress,' 'The Journey to the Goal in Life,' and, one of my favorites, 'The Heart of Man.' They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.

I'm the greatest thing that ever lived! I'm the king of the world! I'm a bad man. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived.

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

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

I'm more at home with my log cabins than I am in my house in Cherry Hill.

Ali's got a left, Ali's got a right - when he knocks you down, you'll sleep for the night; and when you lie on the floor and the ref counts to ten, hope and pray that you never meet me again.

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

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.

No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.

America is the greatest country in the world.

Joe Frazier got hit more than me - and he doesn't have Parkinson's.

My toughest fight was with my first wife.

You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foreman's behind.

I'm no leader; I'm a little humble follower.

All of us are so mixed. My great-grandfather was white.

There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.

The only thing that matters is submitting to the will of God.

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

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

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 always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him

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.

I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.

I should be a postage stamp, because that's the only way I'll ever get licked. I'm beautiful. I'm fast. I'm so mean I make medicine sick. I can't possibly be beat.

All black Americans have slave names. They have white names; names that the slave master has given to them.

I had to prove you could be a new kind of black man. I had to show the world.

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

You can't keep your mind on fighting when you're thinking about a woman. You can't keep your concentration. You feel like sleeping all the time.

I used to tease Joe Louis by reminding him that I was the greatest of all time. But Joe Louis was the greatest heavyweight fighter ever.

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

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.

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.

I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.

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.

Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.

The fact is, I was never too bright in school. I ain't ashamed of it, though. I mean, how much do school principals make a month?

I didn't want to submit to the army and then, on the day of judgment, have God say to me, 'Why did you do that?' This life is a trial, and you realize that what you do is going to be written down for Judgment Day.

I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky.

Ever since I first came here in 1963 to fight Henry Cooper, I have loved the people of England.

I would say things like 'I am the greatest! I'm pretty! If you talk jive, you'll drop in five! I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! I'm pretty!' When white people heard me talking like this, some said, 'That black man talks too much. He's bragging.'

I wanted to use my fame and this face that everyone knows so well to help uplift and inspire people around the world.

The Nation of Islam's main focus was teaching black pride and self-awareness. Why should we keep trying to force ourselves into white restaurants and schools when white people didn't want us? Why not clean up our own neighborhoods and schools instead of trying to move out of them and into white people's neighborhoods?

I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.

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