"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"
Prior to his fight with Liston in February
1964. .
"I'm not the greatest.
I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick
the round. I'm the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior,
most scientific, most skilfullest fighter in the ring today"
Ali speaking after his first fight against
Britain's Henry Cooper in 1963
"I said I was the
greatest, not the smartest"
Muhammad Ali on failing the US army aptitude
test in 1964.
"Now Clay swings
with a right.............................
..What a beautiful swing ....................................
..And the punch raises the bear
.......................... ..Clear
out of the ring. .......................................
..Liston is still rising ..........................................
..And the ref wears a frown ...............................
..For he can't start counting
.............................. ..Till
Sonny comes down"
The build up to the first Liston fight.
"Why, Chump, I
bet you scare yourself to death just starin' in the mirror.
You ugly bear! You ain't never fought nobody but tramps and
has been's. You call yourself a world champion? You're too
old and slow to be champion!"
Ali taunting Sonny Liston at Liston's training
camp .
"Eat your words!
Eat your words! I am the Greatest"
Ali to reporters after beating Sonny Liston
after most reporters never gave him a chance.
"I'm the king of
the world, I am the greatest, I’m Muhammad Ali. I shook
up the world, I am the greatest, I'm king of the world, I'm
pretty, I'm pretty, I'm a bad man, you heard me I'm a bad
man. Archie Moore fell in four, Liston wanted me more, so
since he's so great, I'm a make him fall in eight, I'm a bad
man, I'm king of the world! I'm 22 years old and ain’t
got a mark on my face, I'm pretty, I easily survived six rounds
with that ugly bear, because I am the greatest."
"I know where I
am 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"
Muhammad Ali announcing his conversion to
Islam after beating Sonny Liston.
"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"
Muhammad Ali becomes a member of the Nation
of Islam.
"Cassius Clay is
a slave name. I didn't choose it, and I don't want it. I am
Muhammad Ali, a free name, and I insist people use it when
speaking to me and of me!"
Making The Hobby a Safer Place by Setting The Standards
