--- ---  # Muhammad Ali's Wit and Wisdom: 6 of His Best Quotes  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 4, 2016 1:15 PM UTC  Muhammad Ali training in his gym, May 21, 1965. Muhammad Ali training in his gym, May 21, 1965.Harry Benson—Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 4, 2016 1:15 PM UTC [Muhammad Ali](http://time.com/muhammad-ali-dead/?xid=homepage), the legendary heavyweight champion, [died on Friday](http://time.com/3646214/muhammad-ali-dead-obituary/?xid=homepage) at the age of 74\. He was known perhaps as much for his wit and wisdom as his boxing skill. Here are some of Ali’s own words to remember him by: 1. “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life,” he [said in a 1975 issue of _Playboy_](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/01/life-view/#note-10037-1). 2. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Rumble, young man, rumble,” he [said in 1964](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1839bf32010d4ee08ad1ef32f058ca67/his-words-muhammad-alis-most-famous-quotes), before his fight with Sonny Liston. 3. “What I suffered physically was worth what I’ve accomplished in life. A man who is not courageous enough to take risks will never accomplish anything in life,” he [said at a news conference](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1839bf32010d4ee08ad1ef32f058ca67/his-words-muhammad-alis-most-famous-quotes) on Oct. 28, 1984 in Houston. 4. “Don’t count the days. Make the days count,” he said, [according to ESPN](http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/%5F/id/15930888/muhammad-ali-10-best-quotes). 5. “I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want,” he [said](https://www.facebook.com/MuhammadAliVerified/photos/a.10150216712577822.334537.29756652821/10152727490257822/). 6. “When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts,” he [said](https://www.facebook.com/MuhammadAliVerified/?fref=nf). _For much more on Muhammad Ali, see TIME’s_ ALI: The Greatest_, a 112-page, fully illustrated commemorative edition. Available at retailers and at_ [_AMAZON.COM_](http://amzn.to/1rbALvP) Muhammad Ali: 6 Best Quotes to Remember the Boxer ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4357493/muhammad-ali-dead-best-quotes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4357493/muhammad-ali-dead-best-quotes/"},"headline":"Muhammad Ali's Wit and Wisdom: 6 of His Best Quotes","datePublished":"2016-06-04T13:15:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:23:25.859Z","description":"The legendary boxer also had a way with words","url":"https://time.com/4357493/muhammad-ali-dead-best-quotes/","keywords":["Muhammad Ali","remembrance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f7e00bac1f01749/69889665524fc07eabdf843e/muhammad-ali-quotes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f7e00bac1f01749/69889665524fc07eabdf843e/muhammad-ali-quotes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ali In Training","caption":"Muhammad Ali training in his gym, May 21, 1965.","creditText":"Harry Benson—Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/muhammad-ali/","name":"Muhammad Ali"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4357493/muhammad-ali-dead-best-quotes/","name":"Muhammad Ali's Wit and Wisdom: 6 of His Best Quotes"}}]}] ```