The fun element: you always had fun with him. Never a dull moment. Never a beef. Never an argument. First guy in the gym. Last guy to leave. These were his qualities. He had a lot going for him. He was beautiful. Now, Muhammad was fantastic. Angelo Dundee, interview Focus: Muhammad Ali
Muhammad changed the whole concept of Boxing. ibid.
The most recognised face in the universe. Let’s face it. Angelo Dundee
In training he does hardly nothing. Angelo Dundee, cited When Harry Met Ali: A Tribute
I never had a problem with him. Angelo Dundee
He never was anxious about any fight. Nothing bothered this kid. Angelo Dundee
I never got a word in edgeways. Angelo Dundee
He’s got to bring a smile to you. Angelo Dundee
Few men have dominated their sport more than Muhammad Ali. For this was a champion, an athlete, a star with a unique magnetism. A man directly associated with his times. Sporting Greats: Muhammad Ali
Ali knocked Liston down with the so-called Phantom Punch. ibid.
He destroyed a series of challengers. ibid.
Foreman: It was a win to rank alongside his defeat of Liston. Ali had done the impossible again. ibid.
Thriller in Manila: rarely had there been such brutality in the opening rounds. ibid.
He would never be the same force again. ibid.
Holmes gave Ali a brutal beating. ibid.
Muhammad Ali – a twentieth century icon. ibid.
I believe his qualities are personal ... He is the people’s champion. Wladimir Klitschko
And he combined that velocity with the power of a heavyweight. And he created a whole new thing. We’ve never seen a heavyweight fighter like and we’ve never since. David Remnick, biographer
Boxing was a magnet for emotion and racial identity and the sense that this is one of ours, and people identified very heavily with boxers. Marvin Dunne, author Black Miami in the Twentieth Century
He took boxing to heights never previously reached. He coined his own epitaph – I am the greatest. Harry Carpenter, introducing prize for Sportsman of the Century
Even people who don’t follow boxing, when you say to them, The Rumble in the Jungle, and their face – they all remember, or even if they weren’t born then, they know about it. Harry Carpenter 2004
He does have a great sense of self. A great sense of self-promotion. He was clever. He was funny. He had a sort of piquant of naughtiness. He knew how to make people laugh. Dr Ferdie Pacheco
Ali got lazy. And Ali was letting him [Tim Witherspoon, sparing partner] punch and toughen his side. But you don’t toughen up kidneys. Kidneys don’t believe in toughening up because they are a delicate, delicate organ. That was one of the big reasons that Ali fell apart. Dr Ferdie Pacheco, Ali’s fight doctor, re fight with Larry Holmes 1980
The opening ceremony of the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 has arguably no equal ... They decided to ask the world’s most legendary sportsman – Muhammad Ali – to light the flame. Hall of Fame: Tearjerkers
Ali had attended his first Olympics in 1960 winning the gold medal in Rome ... Arguably the most revered sportsman in history. ibid.
It’s almost like he’s some sort of holy figure ... There always seems to be a light behind him. Steve Bunce, sports journalist
As Reg [Gutteridge] told it, tiring of the champion's bombast, he chirped: ‘Muhammad, you think you’re a tough guy, don’t you? Well, I’ll show you what tough is ...’ Whereupon he seized a steak knife and violently stabbed himself in the leg, watched by the disbelieving Ali, who had no idea Reg had a false leg and was reduced to gobsmacked silence. ‘Now you do that,’ said Reg. Guardian online article 27th January 2009
British people who have never forgotten their encounter with the man they called The Greatest. When Ali Came to Britain, 2012
Ali was one of the best fighters who ever lived. Part artist, all warrior. He performed with a guile and grace never quite seen in a heavyweight before or since ... Here’s Ali’s dozen: 1960 Rome Olympics ... Henry Cooper ... Sonny Liston ... Sonny Liston II ... Cleveland Williams ... Ernie Terrell ... Zora Folley ... Jerry Quarry ... Frasier I ... Foreman ... Frasier ... Earnie Shavers. Ali’s Dozen, 2006
June 20 1967 Ali’s defense – that he is a conscientious objector – is rejected by a Federal Court. Ali is sentenced to five years in jail and fined $10,000. He remains free on appeal. Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight 2013 starring Woody Allen & Christopher Plummer & Frank Langella & Benjamin Walker & Pablo Schreiber & Danny Glover & Ed Begley junior & Peter Gerety & Barry Levinson & John Bedford Lloyd & Dana Ivey & Peter McRobbie et al, director Stephen Friers, caption
You are special. A world champion. Ali 2001 starring Will Smith & Jamie Foxx & Jon Voight & Mario van Peebles & Ron Silver & Jeffrey Wright & Mykelti Williamson & Jada Pinkett Smith & Nona Gaye & Michael Michele & Joe Morton & Paul Rodriguez & Bruce McGill et al, director Michael Mann, Elijah Muhammad
They’re coming after you because they’re scared of black militancy in the inner cities. ibid. Howard Cosell
But I ain’t going no ten thousand miles to help murder and kill other poor people. ibid. Ali
I’m weak on women. ibid.
Don’t fight again please! I Am Ali, daughter to Muhammad on dog-n-bone, 2014
I knew what I wanted to do at twelve years old. ibid. Muhammad
I knew this is not normal. ibid. May-May, daughter
Four years after Ali’s boxing licence was suspended, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction by a unanimous vote. ibid. caption
History may never determine if he was a better fighter than Dempsey or Louis or a few others. But no boxer ever dominated the sports scene quite the way Muhammad did. Peter Axthelm
Ali has that power. He changes people. He blinds people. Many times you see what Ali wants you to see and not what is there. Jose Torres, A Fighter Lies a Lot
What really worried me was his head. Physically speaking, I couldn’t make any judgment on the one round we boxed. I made other judgments after I saw him finishing his training with the other sparring partners. I came to the conclusion that Ali’s reclining back against the ropes was no theatre, no tactic, no laziness. It was a habit. A habit created by the sensibility he developed in the three-and-a-half-years he was off. ibid.
The 48-year-old boxing legend would be put on to centre stage of a crisis unfolding in the war zone. Ali: The Mission, ESPN 2013
August 2 1990: He [Saddam] sent his troops across the border into tiny oil-rich Kuwait. ibid.
That left the fate of 15 of Saddam’s last human shields in the hands of an unlikely diplomat. ibid.
He granted every meeting requested by Iraqi officials. ibid.