Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
People forget that boxing is the art of self-defence - ideally, hit and not be hit - and maybe we should all think about that a bit more.
My main priorities were to fight for Britain. Not a lot of Asians get selected for this country at anything, and it's a great achievement.
It's just such an addictive sport. Only now I can understand why ex-fighters come back. That addiction helps me set new goals and targets.
Kell Brook was saying he wants to forget about Amir Khan; he wants to fight Pacquiao and Mayweather. These guys don't know who Kell Brook is.
Boxing's not going to retire me; I'll retire from boxing. That's where most people make mistakes. They normally stay in the game a bit too long.
Even though you think boxing is a contact sport, it teaches you not to fight on the street, to behave. It gives you discipline and self-control.
I've been working a lot on my lateral movement, and angles - it's coming natural to me now - and on different techniques, keeping my hands right.
I did have a chance to box for Pakistan, but I've lived here all my life, gone to school; all my coaches and everyone's here, and I feel English.
One thing for sure is that I am not going to attempt to knock Barrera out. My boxing ability and my speed are the attributes that will get me the win.
We're prizefighters. That's what we become. Boxing has one of the biggest purses in sport. And in the sporting field, we probably make the most money.
Of course I will turn professional at some stage. Then I want to be a world champion and finish up a legend and be out of the sport by the time I am 27.
We like to entertain, but it is not our duty to do so. I have had a lot of exciting fights and been hit way too much, so that is something to think about.
All the bad press I was getting puts you on a downer, so really, you come to a stage where you start hating yourself, in a way, because you're not in control.
I know people didn't think I'd become a world champion - even people probably in my own camp, my own team, didn't think I'd become a world champion this quickly.
I love the British public and the British fans; they are true boxing fans. If you get them on your side, you can go right to the end and achieve anything in life.
With me being a sportsman and being an icon who people know, if I can even send a little message across which will maybe help a lot of people, I'm going to do that.
I want people talking about me as a great fighter - from being a prospect with the big pressure as soon as I turned professional, then going on to win the world title.
Religion was very influential because when it got really bad, and you don't know who to turn to, but I turned to God and was praying and meditating, that really helped.
As a kid, I was hyperactive and the naughty one in school. I wouldn't listen to anyone and thought I knew best. At home, I was always breaking things and annoying everyone.
Organic food is the best for you, and I'm eating the best, a lot of fresh vegetables. I also keep myself hydrated. It's all made a big difference to my performance in the gym.
The boxing world can be a very lonely one, and I'm so grateful every day to have Dad and my whole family watching my back. It would be unthinkable if I didn't have their support.
You have to be confident when you've got someone in front of you who wants to beat you and take the title from you. But I think people mistake my confidence for arrogance or cockiness.
If I hadn't gone towards boxing, I might have been one of those kids getting into trouble. A lot of my friends did. They were clever kids at school, but they just went down the wrong path.
I've been to so many dos and presentation dinners and TV shows. I've been among all the top stars - soap stars, people from music - it's been brilliant. But I've kept my feet on the ground.
You're always just one punch away from getting hurt. But look, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. I think I'm going to walk out of this sport of boxing when I think it's the right time.
I came back from the Olympic Games, and straightaway, I'm this role model. So that means I can't mess around with my mates like I used to because, if I do, people are going to use it to knock me down.
I try to fix things between the Asian community and the English community. There are always going to be racial things there, not getting on with each other and stuff. I have tried to break that barrier.
Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales are the guys I want to base myself on. They fight with their whole heart and with such work-rate. They just don't stop punching. I want to be like that - never boring.
I have the skills to box and not get into a war. I've been getting punishment I shouldn't be taking because, sometimes, I'm too brave for my own good. When I've got good footwork and movement, I should use them.
I want to thank Kotelnik for letting me have a shot at the title. I'm so confident I'm going to beat him. He thinks that me moving up a weight, I won't be as strong, but I'm very strong. I'm a hard-hitting fighter.
The Prescott fight made me change from a boy to a man: it took me out of my comfort zone because when you lose a fight, you look at the mistakes and everything. That is what happened. I've changed from a boy to a man.
There are a lot of fighters with no family support, but your family are honest with you. Look at the types who were around Mike Tyson. They are not going to tell you when you are wrong; they'll just call you the champ.
The thing is, I'm never scared. It's just in the blood, really. My family come from a warrior clan background, the Rajput tribe from the Punjab, and that could be one of the reasons. Going into fights just seems normal to me.
I look out there, and I see that Floyd Mayweather stands head and shoulders above everyone else. He's another fighter I would like to base myself on because he's got incredible fast hands and feet. He's flashy but, man, is he good.
Straight after the Prescott fight, people were saying, 'He's finished. He's not going to come back.' There were only racial remarks made. But, you know what, it made me stronger. It made me come back even stronger. It made me a better fighter.
I used to have Lamborghinis, Ferraris parked up outside the house - just parked there with no one driving them! Now I'm much wiser, and I only have one car that I drive. What's the point of having three cars just parked up when you don't need them?
We grew up in a nice house in a very middle-class area in Bolton and had a very happy childhood. My mum, Falak, who was also brought over from Pakistan by her parents as a kid, devoted herself to bringing up me and my younger brother and sister, Haroon and Tabinda, and my elder sister Mariyah.
My grandfather on my dad's side was the first in our family to settle in the U.K. He came from Pakistan on his own in the '60s and worked in a cotton mill in Bolton, earning enough to bring over the rest of his family. My dad, Shah, was only about eight when he came to this country. Like most immigrants, he has a fierce work ethic.