I think Ali was a fan of mine, even though he never said it. A lot of fighters thought I was pretty good. Nobody every really spoke different on that. But a lot of fighters thought I was good so.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Ali was a legend of our sport. For me as a kid, he inspired me to represent myself like a champion in and out of the ring.
Ali would not be Ali unless I had come along. Him and me had three fights.
Muhammad Ali was the kind of guy you either loved or hated, but you wanted to see him. I happen to really love him. He brought boxing to another level and always made you laugh.
Ali and I have become friends over the years. I was on a plane with him one time when he was the champion.
Muhammad Ali meant everything to me. He inspired me to box after watching re-runs of him winning a gold medal in the Olympics and being a world champion.
Ali's belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it's become my own philosophy.
I watched Muhammad Ali, how when he would speak, how it was such a thing of beauty. It sounded so wonderful. And I wanted to be like him.
Ali was a guy that had a lot of discipline. If you hung around him, you'd be able to get some of that discipline that he had. And I learned from that. He was a sweet man.
I started boxing because of my brother. And then I came to admire the all-time greats, like Roberto Duran and Muhammad Ali. I'd say I admired Ali more than any fighter in my life.
I hated Ali. God might not like me talking that way, but it's in my heart.