Question

Which of the following are punctuated correctly?

I. According to the famous boxer Muhammad Ali, "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was."
II. "I am the greatest," said the famous boxer Muhammad Ali, "I said that even before I knew I was."
III. "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was," said the famous boxer Muhammad Ali.

Answer 1

Option III. "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was," said the famous boxer Muhammad Ali.

Because there the quoatation marks are placed to write the exact words that the boxer said and you can identify that by the use of the pronoun I, which refers to the same boxer.