“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee…”
So went perhaps the most famous line of the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Or was it David Cameron who said that?
Let’s hope the children of the future don’t think the latter.
“When standing at this Dispatch Box, I am sure we all try to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” the prime minister told MPs as he paid tribute to the “hero”.
Luckily, the Tory leader didn’t add the second half of the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle quote: “His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”
Who knows what would have gone down?
Fisticuffs at midday? MPs drawing swords, “pumped up” by Mr Cameron’s words?
Not all of those seated in the blue corner, of course.
Ali’s greatness recognised, the bout began in earnest with the contenders moving on to the EU.
Right and left hooks flew and then flew some more.
Stop “denigrating our great country”, was one Brexiteer’s cry.
Our immigration policy discriminates against the rest of the world, declared another.
And from the red corner, Jeremy Corbyn repeatedly lunged at the issues of workers’ rights and zero-hours contracts, again calling for the practice to be banned.
Fortunately for the prime minister, the discussion moved on to one of the Aston Villa-West Ham fan’s favourite subjects – football.
“I am sure that this is one occasion when the whole House will want all the home nations to stay in Europe for as long as possible,” he quipped.
“We all want to see an absolutely great celebration of European football. I wish all the home nations well.”
He named them each in turn. Northern Ireland, Wales, of course England and …
