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Which of his many quotes is "The Greatest?" In celebration of the 49th anniversary of his pro debut, we count down the best of the best!
Fourty-nine years ago today, a legend was born.
Well, not really "born." The legend was born on January 17, 1942. But the legend didn't start his legendary career until October 29, 1960. Although if you ask him, he'd probably say he knew he was a legend from day one.
The legend was the man who stepped in the ring across Tunney Hunsaker, the police chief of Fayetteville, West ******ia. The legend was a six-foot-three heavyweight who fought unlike any other heavyweight before him, relying on speed and reflexes instead of brute strength. He was a man named Cassius Clay, who would soon turn into the legendary Muhammad Ali.
One of the things that turned him into the legend that we all know and cherish today was his fast talking and showman-like speeches. Love em or hate em, Ali brought trash-talking to the sport and it's here to stay in modern-day champions like Ricardo Mayorga, Roy Jones Jr., and of course, the infamous Floyd Mayweather Jr. But Ali also made sure when he talked the talk, he walked the walk, or boxed the box as the case may be, acquiring a 56-5 (37 KOs) record in his career.
To celebrate the 49th anniversary of Muhammad Ali's pro debut, The Ten Count brings you the Top 10 Ali Quotes.
10.) "My toughest fight was with my first wife and she won every round." -- in reference to first wife Sonji Roi, married in 1964, divorced two years later.
9.) "No Viet Cong ever called me 'n*****.'" -- on one of his reasons for being a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war. His primary reason was his belief in Islam which stated that no man should take part in war unless directed by Allah. He was jailed in 1967 and stripped of his title.
8.) "After the fight I'm gonna build myself a pretty home and use him as a bearskin rug. Liston even smells like a bear. I'm gonna give him to the local zoo after I whoop him." -- prior to Ali's (then Cassius Clay) first title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964.
7.) "I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!!" -- shouted to the press after Liston quits on his stool after six rounds. Only two prominent press writers correctly predicted Clay's victory.
6.) "It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila." -- prior to Ali's fiinal bout with Joe Frazier in 1975. Temperatures at Araneta Coliseum reached up to 100 degrees during the bout. Nothing chilling about that!
5.) "If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize." -- Directed to George Foreman before the "Rumble in the Jungle," which took place in Zaire.
4.) "I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick." -- Ali describes how badass he is before 1974's "Rumble in the Jungle."
3.) "I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." -- Ali describing his speed advantage over Foreman.
2.) "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee; his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see." -- One of Ali's most famous and recognizable quotes, the quote was actually inspired by one of Ali's cornermen. When asked to describe Ali's fight style, Drew "Bundini" Brown said that he "floated like a butterfly, but stings like a bee."
1.) "I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was." -- A list of Ali quotes, you knew "The Greatest" had to be on top! We like this version the best, because not only is it his usual swagger and ****iness, but at the same time a glimpse given to a reporter and to the world about what drove him. He wanted everyone to laud him and praise him, but he had a burning desire to make it worthwhile. In other words, if he wanted to be "The Greatest," he had to be the greatest.
http://www.411mania.com/boxing/colum...Ali-Quotes.htm
Fourty-nine years ago today, a legend was born.
Well, not really "born." The legend was born on January 17, 1942. But the legend didn't start his legendary career until October 29, 1960. Although if you ask him, he'd probably say he knew he was a legend from day one.
The legend was the man who stepped in the ring across Tunney Hunsaker, the police chief of Fayetteville, West ******ia. The legend was a six-foot-three heavyweight who fought unlike any other heavyweight before him, relying on speed and reflexes instead of brute strength. He was a man named Cassius Clay, who would soon turn into the legendary Muhammad Ali.
One of the things that turned him into the legend that we all know and cherish today was his fast talking and showman-like speeches. Love em or hate em, Ali brought trash-talking to the sport and it's here to stay in modern-day champions like Ricardo Mayorga, Roy Jones Jr., and of course, the infamous Floyd Mayweather Jr. But Ali also made sure when he talked the talk, he walked the walk, or boxed the box as the case may be, acquiring a 56-5 (37 KOs) record in his career.
To celebrate the 49th anniversary of Muhammad Ali's pro debut, The Ten Count brings you the Top 10 Ali Quotes.
10.) "My toughest fight was with my first wife and she won every round." -- in reference to first wife Sonji Roi, married in 1964, divorced two years later.
9.) "No Viet Cong ever called me 'n*****.'" -- on one of his reasons for being a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war. His primary reason was his belief in Islam which stated that no man should take part in war unless directed by Allah. He was jailed in 1967 and stripped of his title.
8.) "After the fight I'm gonna build myself a pretty home and use him as a bearskin rug. Liston even smells like a bear. I'm gonna give him to the local zoo after I whoop him." -- prior to Ali's (then Cassius Clay) first title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964.
7.) "I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!!" -- shouted to the press after Liston quits on his stool after six rounds. Only two prominent press writers correctly predicted Clay's victory.
6.) "It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila." -- prior to Ali's fiinal bout with Joe Frazier in 1975. Temperatures at Araneta Coliseum reached up to 100 degrees during the bout. Nothing chilling about that!
5.) "If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize." -- Directed to George Foreman before the "Rumble in the Jungle," which took place in Zaire.
4.) "I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick." -- Ali describes how badass he is before 1974's "Rumble in the Jungle."
3.) "I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." -- Ali describing his speed advantage over Foreman.
2.) "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee; his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see." -- One of Ali's most famous and recognizable quotes, the quote was actually inspired by one of Ali's cornermen. When asked to describe Ali's fight style, Drew "Bundini" Brown said that he "floated like a butterfly, but stings like a bee."
1.) "I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was." -- A list of Ali quotes, you knew "The Greatest" had to be on top! We like this version the best, because not only is it his usual swagger and ****iness, but at the same time a glimpse given to a reporter and to the world about what drove him. He wanted everyone to laud him and praise him, but he had a burning desire to make it worthwhile. In other words, if he wanted to be "The Greatest," he had to be the greatest.
http://www.411mania.com/boxing/colum...Ali-Quotes.htm
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