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

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.

Honey, I just forgot to duck.

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

Nailing him was like trying to thread a needle in a high wind.

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

When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn't. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven't eaten for two days you'll understand.

Champions get up when they can't.

The best defense is a good offense.

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

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

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

I never went to bed in my life and I never ate a meal in my life without saying a prayer. I know my prayers have been answered thousands of times, and I know that I never said a prayer in my life without something good coming of it.