Muhammad Ali, in his own words

June 4 (Reuters) - Muhammad Ali was not only a boxing champion, he was a championship talker. Following are some quotations from Ali: * "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." * "It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up." * "Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up." * "At home I am a nice guy but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far." * "I've wrestled with alligators. I've tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, and throw thunder in jail. You know I'm bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean, I make medicine sick." * "I'm not the greatest. I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round. I'm the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillfullest fighter in the ring today." * "I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free." * "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong." * "I may not talk perfect white talk-type English but I give you wisdom." * "If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don't ask how. Hitch him up!" * "I'm the onliest person that can speak to everybody in the whole world. My name is known in Serbia, Pakistan, Morocco. These are countries that don't follow the Kentucky Derby." * "Sometimes I feel a little sad because I can see how some things I said could upset some people. But I did not deliberately try to hurt anyone. The hype was part of my job, like skipping rope." * "Now the things that once were so effortless - my strong voice and the quickness of my movements - are more difficult. But I get up every day and try to live life to the fullest because each day is a gift from God." (Compiled by Bill Trott; Editing by Frances Kerry and Mary Milliken)