I'm not religious, but I believe that what I have is a gift, and I respect it and live up to it.

I found boxing when I was 14 years old. I went down to the gym because my brother, who used to beat me up all the time, introduced me to boxing. I found boxing to be a sport that I felt safe in because I controlled what was in those four squares.

I'm a free agent. I haven't allowed any promoters to have exclusive options on my fight. I don't need a promoter.

I think an athlete should be honest. I know it's difficult, but if a guy knocked me on my can, I couldn't very well say, I slipped.

Before the start of the '76 Olympics, I'd had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five

I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up.

I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off.