Muhammad Ali quotes

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

My principles are more important than the money or my title.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

God tries you in certain, certain ways. Some people are rich, and they believe in God. They lose the money, things get hard, they get weak and quit going to church. Quit serving God like they did.

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.

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