Muhammad Ali is an inspiration for anyone who has to fight to achieve being that cut above the rest. His wit with words and his speed in the ring made him one of the most charismatic personalities of the 20th & 21st centuries.

He stood up for his ideals and acted as a role model for millions of people all over the world. We admire his perseverance, courage and he was one of the few personalities who certainly helps us when we feel that things are tough and that we are at the end of our tether.

Here are just a handful of quotes he has left us and that represent the different stages that he went through in life.

“Champions aren’t made in gyms, champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognise, but get used to me. Black, confident, cocky. My name, not yours. My religion, not yours. My goals, my own. Get used to me.”

“Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Vietcong ever called me nigger.”

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

“A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”

“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.”

“Maybe my Parkinson’s is God’s way of reminding me what is important. It slowed me down and caused me to listen rather than talk. Actually, people pay more attention to me now because I don’t talk as much.”