No One But Myself Thought I Could

Ali's Belief In Himself Was Something I Picked Up On, And It's Become My Own Philosophy

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.

To Be The Best, You Need To Spend Hours And Hours And Hours Running, Hitting The Speed Bag, Lifting Weights And Focusing On Training.

I Saw Todd Bridges Talk About Being Abused On Oprah. Something That He Said, Or An Expression That He Made That Gave Me That Little Boost I Needed To Be Open About It And To Talk About It As Transparently As I Did. When I Told My Wife, She Couldn't Believe It. She Was Petrified, Because It's Such A No-no, Taboo, A Hands-off Subject. But I'd Have To Say Hearing Todd Bridges On Oprah Was My Watershed Moment.

I Wouldnt Change Anything Because The Mistakes And The Hurt Are As Important As All The Great Fights. They Made Me Who I Am Today.