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WASHINGTON, January 12, 2012 (AFP) – Famous quotes from Muhammad Ali, who turns 70 on Tuesday. He will be honored with a birthday party on Saturday at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky:
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see. Rumble young man rumble.”
- before fighting George Foreman in 1974
“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong. How can I kill somebody when five times a day I pray for peace? You want me to be so scared of the white man I’ll go and get two arms shot off and 10 medals so you can give me a small salary and pat my head and say, ‘Good boy, he fought for our country.’”
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- after refusing induction to the US Army in 1967 during the Vietnam War
“I done wrestled with an alligator. I done tussled with a whale. Handcuffed lightning. Thrown thunder in jail. Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”
- before fighting George Foreman in 1974
Muhammad Ali’s legacy of respect, hope and understanding among people has an enduring spirit for those who have seen the power that the boxing icon has even as he nears his 70th birthday.
More than 30 years after his last fight, Ali’s fame as a humanitarian is immortalized in the Muhammad Ali Center, a non-profit home in Louisville, Kentucky, for far more than souvenirs of the legendary heavyweight champion’s career.
“It’s much more than a building. We are here to create an enduring legacy,” said Ali Center spokeswoman Jeanie Kahnke.
“We want Muhammad’s legacy to be carried on to the next generation. We are the institution that will carry on Muhammad’s legacy.”
Despite battling Parkinson’s disease, Ali has lent his fame to efforts large and small to help people, whether it’s neighborhood groups in his hometown of Louisville or helping bring food and medicine to poorer nations.
Ali is recalled for his flamboyant character and youthful charm as well as epic fights with the late Joe Frazier and winning a showdown in Africa against George Foreman.
For some, Ali’s fame comes from his anti-war stance and the courage he showed in being banned from boxing at the peak of his career for refusing to enlist as an Ameri
