Muhammad Ali: This I believe

For the last installment of NPR's This I Believe series on "All Things Considered," Muhammad Ali talks about his life with the help of his wife Lonnie. Ali is now 67. Excerpt:

Early in 1996, I was asked to light the cauldron at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Of course my immediate answer was yes. I never even thought of having Parkinson's or what physical challenges that would present for me.

When the moment came for me to walk out on the 140-foot-high scaffolding and take the torch from Janet Evans, I realized I had the eyes of the world on me. I also realized that as I held the Olympic torch high above my head, my tremors had taken over. Just at that moment, I heard a rumble in the stadium that became a pounding roar and then turned into a deafening applause. I was reminded of my 1960 Olympic experience in Rome, when I won the gold medal. Those 36 years between Rome and Atlanta flashed before me, and I realized that I had come full circle.

Nothing in life has defeated me. I am still the "Greatest." This I believe.

Now residing in Phoenix, Ali used to live in the Fremont Place home now occupied by city commissioner and Friend-of-Obama Michael Lawson.