People don’t realize what they had till it’s gone. Like President Kennedy, there was no one like him, the Beatles, and my man Elvis Presley. I was the Elvis of boxing.

I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky.

Jeb Bush, I appreciate you. You a leader. You a Bush.

Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.

Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities.

Once you appreciate one of your blessings, one of your senses, your sense of hearing, then you begin to respect the sense of seeing and touching and tasting, you learn to respect all the senses.

If they let people go fight jiu-jitsu tournaments, they can’t stop me going to fight a boxing fight.

The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

The experience of pain or loss can be a formidably motivating force.

Fame will go by and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experience, but that’s not where I live.

That little Miley Cyrus… she’s like a little Elvis. The kids love her because she’s Hannah Montana, but what people don’t realize about her is she is such a fantastic singer and songwriter. She writes songs like she’s 40 years old!

I’ve lost both parents in the last two years, so you pick up on that stuff. That’s the most terrible thing about being an author – standing there at your mother’s funeral, but you don’t switch the author off. So your own innermost thoughts are grist for the mill.

A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.

Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.

The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.

Here in America, we don’t let our differences tear us apart. Not here. Because we know that our greatness comes from when we appreciate each other’s strengths, when we learn from each other, when we lean on each other, because in this country, it’s never been each person for themselves. No, we’re all in this together. We always have been.

Pay attention, don’t let life go by you. Fall in love with the back of your cereal box.

Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.

Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore; only the life I have lived. The pain now is part of the happiness then.

Boxing is limited fighting with a specific rule set. Fighting is true, where you can do anything.

You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foreman’s behind.

Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.

No boxer in the history of boxing has had Parkinson’s. There’s no injury in my brain that suggests that the illness came from boxing.

Never take anything for granted.

Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it’s a good place that we’re all in, you know, on this earth, if we take care of it.

You never get over losses. I’ve never gotten over one loss I’ve had in my career. They always stick with me.

The older I get, the better I understand that every day is a gift.

Everywhere I go, the kids call me ‚the book lady.‘ The older I get, the more appreciative I seem to be of the ‚book lady‘ title. It makes me feel more like a legitimate person, not just a singer or an entertainer. But it makes me feel like I’ve done something good with my life and with my success.

Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.

This is a moment that I deeply wish my parents could have lived to share. My father would have enjoyed what you have so generously said of me-and my mother would have believed it.

Among the many values in life, I appreciate freedom most.

Generally speaking, men are held in great esteem in all parts of the world, so why shouldn’t women have their share? Soldiers and war heroes are honored and commemorated, explorers are granted immortal fame, martyrs are revered, but how many people look upon women too as soldiers?

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

The death of my father is probably the biggest thing that I ever faced. Daddy and I were best friends.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

The way to know life is to love many things.

I’ve never thought about songwriting as a weapon. I’ve only thought about it as a way to help me get through love and loss and sadness and loneliness and growing up.

My trainer don’t tell me nothing between rounds. I don’t allow him to. I fight the fight. All I want to know is did I win the round. It’s too late for advice.

To kids, I’ve always been more than just some big tough black guy. I train to be tough – I box and do karate – but underneath all that toughness is a tender man.

Ali’s got a left, Ali’s got a right – when he knocks you down, you’ll sleep for the night; and when you lie on the floor and the ref counts to ten, hope and pray that you never meet me again.

From one generation to the next, The Beatles will remain the most important rock band of all time.

I always joke that my kids‘ favorite holiday is Father’s Day. They love the way I celebrate the occasion by writing each of them a thank-you letter and a generous check. It’s my way of letting them know how much I appreciate the great pleasure and privilege of being their dad.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

‚Rocky‘ and ‚Rocky III‘ were the best.

I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.

If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough.

I calculate that I took 20,000 punches, but I earned millions and kept a lot of it. I may talk slow, but my mind is OK.

I love my daddy. My daddy’s everything. I hope I can find a man that will treat me as good as my dad.

If a man loses his reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all of life.

No matter how prepared you think you are for the death of a loved one, it still comes as a shock, and it still hurts very deeply.

It is wonderful to have someone praise you, to be desired.

I was a huge Mike Tyson fan growing up; his fights were always on in my house.

Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more.

A good boxing competition gives one the sight of fine men in their prime, trained to the ounce, showing the highest skill, pluck and endurance in carrying out their attack and defence under strict rules of fair play and good temper.

I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.

I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.

I wake up some mornings and sit and have my coffee and look out at my beautiful garden, and I go, ‚Remember how good this is. Because you can lose it.‘

When you lose a person you love so much, surviving the loss is difficult.