On my twelfth birthday, I got a new bicycle as a present from my folks, and I rode it to a fair that was being held at the Columbia Gymnasium, and when I come out, my bike was gone. I was so mad I was crying, and a policeman, Joe Martin, come up and I told him I was going to whip whoever took my bike. He said I ought to take some boxing lessons to learn how to whip the thief better, and I did. That's when I started fighting.

I'm The Greatest, but only in relation to fighting.

Frank Sinatra told Floyd Paterson how he should whoop me. Frank Sinatra.

When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.

When one man of popularity can let the world know the problem, he might lose a few dollars himself. He might lose his life. But he's helping millions.

Believe me, a thousand friends suffice thee not; In a single enemy thou hast more than enough.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.