I wasn't a big guy. People thought the big guys would eat me up. But it was the other way around. I loved to fight bigger guys.

You can map out a light plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you're down to the reflexes you developed in training. That's where roadwork shows - the training you did in the dark of the mornin' will show when you're under the bright lights.

His mouth made him feel like he was gonna win. Not his hands, I had my hand. He had his lips.

You got 3 things going against you: you're good, you're left-handed, and you're black

Joe Frazier's life didn't start with Ali. I was a Golden Gloves champ. Gold medal in Tokyo '64. Heavyweight champion of the world long before I fought Ali in the Garden.

I don't think a man has to go around shouting and play-acting to prove he is something. And a real man don't go around putting other guys down, trampling their feelings in the dirt, making out they're nothing.

When I go out there, I have no pity on my brother. I am out there to win.