Muhammad Ali Quotes On Training And Life: 20 Sayings Champion Said Before 2016 Death

Three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was renowned not just for his supreme boxing skills, but for his catchy sayings. To honor the legendary fighter, who died Friday at age 74 in a Phoenix hospital, here are some of his most famous quotes:

1.“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.”

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

3. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”

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

5. “There are no pleasures in a fight, but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.”

6. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

7. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

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

9. “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”

10. “The man who has no imagination has no wings.”

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

12. “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.”

13.“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

14. “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.”

15. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.”

16. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”

17. “Don’t count the days; make the days count.”

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

19. “Champions aren’t made in 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.”

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