Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

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

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

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

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

Allah is the Greatest. I’m just the greatest boxer

You lose nothing when fighting for a cause … In my mind the losers are those who don’t have a cause they care about.

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

To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.

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

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

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

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

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.

Impossible is nothing.

It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.

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.

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

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

Now I had won the gold medal. But it didn’t mean anything, because I didn’t have the right color skin.

I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I’m in a world of my own.

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.’

My toughest fight was with my first wife.

Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.

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

It’s not bragging if you can back it up.

Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God.

My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love, and spirituality.

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.

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

People don’t realize what they had till it’s gone. Like President Kennedy, there was no one like him, the Beatles, and my man Elvis Presley. I was the Elvis of boxing.

Cassius Clay is a name that white people gave to my slave master. Now that I am free, that I don’t belong anymore to anyone, that I’m not a slave anymore, I gave back their white name, and I chose a beautiful African one.

It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he’s gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.

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 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’m just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence.

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

I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.

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.

When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.

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

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.

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

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.

The greatest victory in life is to rise above the material things that we once valued most.

When I won the Golden Gloves in 1960, that made me realize I had a chance. And when I won at the Olympics, that sealed it: I was the champ.

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.