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“I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be who I want.”

Source: Press conference in Miami Beach, 26 February 1964, the morning after he won the world heavyweight title

Context The morning after beating Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title, he answered reporters' questions about his ties to the Nation of Islam at a press conference in Miami Beach.

Portrait of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad AliUnited States · 1942–2016
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