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

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.

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

I always expect unexpected challenges.

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.

I retired and came back in '97. Woo! I mean, come on! I don't know, man. A six-year layoff? That was crazy! My career was relatively short, whether you look at either its length in years or the number of fights I had. But it was brutal.

Ali's belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it's become my own philosophy