‘Champions aren’t made in the 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.’ – Ali said this prior to a fight against George Foreman in 1974.
‘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.’
‘If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize.’
‘My way of joking is to tell the truth. That’s the funniest joke in the world.’
‘I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky, my name not yours. My religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.’ – Ali said this in 1970 when he was convicted of draft evasion.
