Except For Ali, Fighters Had Never Been

When I Was 15 Or 16 And I Started Climbing Up The Ladder Of Success In Amateur Boxing, A Reporter Asked Me, "what Do You Want To Be?" I Think He Was Expecting Me To Say, "a Champion." I Said, "i Want To Be Special." I Don't Know Why I Said That, But I Didn't Just Want To Be A Fighter. I Wanted To Have An Impact With People, Particularly Kids.

You Just Don't Heal That Easy Unless You're Young.

I Tried The Gloves On, And It Just Felt So Natural. From That Moment I Became So Embedded In Boxing. I Found A Friend In Boxing.

I'm Not Religious, But I Believe That What I Have Is A Gift, And I Respect It And Live Up To It.

To Be Honest, I Don't Know. I Started One [book] Back In 1982 Or '83 When I First Retired. But I Was Only 25 Or 26 And Not Ready To Write My Memoirs.