A child needs freedom within limits.
I don't think boxing took more from me then I got in return. It gave me everything that I took from it. It was all fair.
Without struggle, there is no progress. There has to be struggle in your life. You have to grow in experience to control your ego. Cause, you know, an ego can be crushed, it can be killed, it can be smashed, but it comes back. It never dies. That's the thing about the ego: it never dies.
In order to be a friend to anybody, you have to be a friend to yourself. If you're not a friend to yourself, there's no way you're gonna have any friends.
I'm a good friend, but I'm a hell of an enemy. As your enemy, I want your demise. When I feel that in my heart it burns till I die.
I always had a lot of responsibilities. I just didn't take them. I just decided to take care of my responsibilities, live up to them. That's a pretty interesting job. It's harder than being heavyweight champion of the world.
My intentions were not to fascinate the world with my personality.
I think God has a tremendous sense of humor.
Now, there's no use crying over spoiled milk.
The chrysanthemums' astringent fragrance comes Each year to disguise the clanking mechanism Of machine within machine within machine.
I applied for a scholarship to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I knew I was good enough, but they turned me down. And it took me about six months to realize it was because I was black. I never really got over that jolt of racism at the time.