45 Famous Quotes by Muhammad Ali
1/17/1942 - (Present)
Also Known As:
Cassius Clay
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
The Louisville Lip
Professions:
Information:
About Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. Considered a cultural icon, Ali has both been idolized and vilified.
Originally known as Cassius Clay, at the age of 22 he won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston. Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975. In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges; he was stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was eventually successful.
Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.
Nicknamed "The Greatest", Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these were three with rival Joe Frazier, which are considered among the greatest in boxing history, and one with George Foreman, where he finally regained his stripped titles seven years later. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", and employing techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope. Ali brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports and through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he became the most famous athlete in the world. He was also known for his pre-match hype, where he would "trash talk" opponents, often with rhymes.
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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.
Fight
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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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.
African american
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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I say get an education. Become an electrician, a mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer — anything but a fighter. In this trade, it's the managers that make the money and last the longest.
Sports:boxing
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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Statement after losing his first fight to Ken Norton, March 31, 1973: 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.
Sports:boxing
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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If my fans think I can do everything I say I can do, then they're crazier than I am. After one of his fight predictions turned out to be wrong.
Sports:boxing
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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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.
Sports:boxing
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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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
Sports:boxing
Quotes, by Muhammad Ali
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