“A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.”

“A champion owes everybody something. He can never pay back for all the help he got, for making him an idol.”

“A good fighter usually knows, to within a very few seconds, when a three-minute round is going to end.”

“All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him.”

“By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.”

“I was a pretty good fighter. But it was the writers who made me great.”

“Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance.”

“Number 4 should have been number 1. Thanks, Honey.”

“Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body.”

“Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning.”

“You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who's ready when the gong rings - not just before, not just after - but when it rings.”