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.

If I hadn't had the talent, the networks wouldn't have televised my fights. No one has made me; I made myself. I paid my dues

Although it was a great accomplishment to win a gold medal, as soon as they put it on you, that's it; your career is over.

Success is attaining your dream while helping others to benefit from that dream materializing.

Boxing brings out my aggressive instinct, not necessarily a killer instinct.

I'm not in favor of that [mandating protective headgear ] because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that's why there's a third man in the ring, the referee. And that's why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn't allow guys in the ring who don't belong there.

I was painfully initiated into boxing, because the guys I fought were a lot bigger than me.