Muhammad Ali, de bokser die de titel “The Greatest” claimde overleed afgelopen vrijdag. Na een 32-jaar durende strijd met de ziekte van Parkison gooit Ali op 74 jarige leeftijd de handdoek in de ring. De drie keer wereldkampioen zwaargewicht was een grote inspirator en motivator. Dit waren zijn legendarische momenten met de bijpassende quotes.
Tijdens het tweede Liston fight, 1965
“Get up sucker and fight. Get up and fight.”
Tijdens het gevecht tegen Ernie Terrell, 1967 (Terrell deed alsof hij zijn naam niet wist)
“What’s my name, fool? What’s my name?”
Op het weigeren van zijn dienstplicht in 1967 tijdens de oorlog tegen Vietnam
“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”
Voor zijn gevecht tegen George Foreman, 1974
“Float like a butterfly sting like a bee – his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”
“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.”
Tijdens het gevecht met Foreman, 1974
“That all you got, George? That all you got?”
Before third Joe Frazier fight, 1975
“It will be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila.”
Rumble in the Jungle: the war of words
“I done something new for this fight. I wrestled with an alligator. I tussled with a whale. I handcuffed lightning, I 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.”
“I won’t kid you. When he went to the ropes, I felt sick. Going into the fight, I thought Muhammad would win, but not that way.” – Zijn trainer Angelo Dundee
“Ali, booma ye!” – Vanuit het publiek (“Ali, kill him”).
“This is the most joyous scene … ever seen in the history of boxing.” –Commetator David Frost
“Muhammad amazed me, I’ll admit it. He out-thought me, he outfought me. That night, he was just the better man in the ring.” – Foreman
“Now we know what happened which is why he was the greatest. It was beautiful.” – Dundee