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Sergio Mora is a Rubik's Cube. You have to figure him out. He's crafty and I have the utmost respect for him.
When I first turned pro, I was making a lot of money, and I was spending money from two fights down the line.
I would be a dumb guy to say I don't like MMA because it's not boxing. You just have to appreciate everything.
One thing that I learned post-cancer is to enjoy every moment of every day. To find things to be grateful for.
This is boxing - you can't really say what is going to happen because anything can happen in that square ring.
My grandmother was very strict. She and my mom wouldn't let me hang around the streets. It wasn't my lifestyle.
If I'm winning and looking impressive and being on the scene, the fans are going to start demanding bigger fights.
I wouldn't say that I'm the most avoided man in boxing, but a few guys might avoid me in the middleweight division.
When I was making my way to the ring and when I fight, to see people cheering for me, it makes me feel that I'm somebody special.
I'm super proud of myself, not because I can throw punches inside a ring but just because of my journey and who I proved that I am.
I don't want to be in a stable of guys that have to fight for the spotlight. I want to be with a promoter who is solely focused on me.
I'm a fighter through and through. I don't fear any person and to go inside that ring with a feared mentality, why even go inside the ring?
You have all these different reality shows, all social media, all these different things where people have to act a certain way to get attention.
I'm a pure boxer. I have lightning speed that hurts guys. But I love to box. I love to be on my back foot. I love to work my jab and combinations.
I've seen a lot in my life and nothing really shocked me, just being where I'm from. But this was unexpected. It just hit me, like, I have cancer? Me?
A fighter in his prime needs to stay active. A fighter, who doesn't have certainty when he's going to fight again, it's hard for him to stay mentally ready.
A lot of guys would prefer to go the business route by getting as much as they can for the least amount of risk than to actually put everything on the line.
Andre Ward is a guy I look up to, a guy I have the highest respect for in and out of the ring, so anytime he can give me some kind of advice, I'm like a sponge.
I'm fortunate for where I come from because even though I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth, it allowed me to appreciate any little thing that I have.
Most of the guys I grew up with let the streets and the gangs influence them. Maybe one or two of them made it to college. All the negative things were all around me.
Anytime I am spending time with my son. We went to a theme party recently and it was Toy Story. He was Buzz Lightyear, I was Woody and his mom dressed like Woody's wife.
I was raised by my grandmother, my mom, about five or six aunts and female cousins as well. We were all in one building. I definitely learned how to respect and how to treat women.
Going in with one of the best middleweights, I can take experience and the mental capacity to know I can and do belong, and bring a mental edge you can have every time in the ring.
I think it's a true blessing and great opportunity for me to represent, not only New York boxing, but coming from Brownsville where boxing has been the essence of the neighborhood.
I accept MMA, I appreciate MMA, I even get techniques from MMA, surprisingly, like footwork techniques and how I move. It's different and unorthodox to what boxers are normally used to.
Listen, it's crazy because I almost have to work twice as hard to get the amount of attention as it is for somebody who's a little lighter than me or from a different country than me, you know?
I've been able to not only fulfill my dreams and become a world champion, but there's been so many different opportunities that just blow my mind and opportunities that I never thought I'd have.
I have so many memories, and I love music because you can listen to a song when you're at a certain place or doing something special and that particular song will always remind you of that thing.
They say the only thing that your parents don't teach you is how to live without them, but my grandma's religious beliefs allowed me to accept death even though it was so hard to live without her.
At one point, I didn't really consider myself as a puncher because it was more so that the speed created the knockouts. People were getting hit with punches they didn't see and they were going down.
For me, being world champion, you have to put your body through these extreme tests, day in and day out. So when Sunday comes around, that's the day when I pamper myself. I might get a massage or go to a spa.
I had to have 25 counts of radiation, and the radiation was an obstacle I had to get over, in and of itself. It took away my appetite completely, it changed my mood swings, it would make me feel nauseous all the time.
I was a gorilla boxer. I had a full gorilla suit on with boxing gloves. I had an amateur belt on. No one knew that it was me in the costume and I was going into stores and scaring people and boxing on them. It was fun.
I know that the strong, black woman is the most beautiful creature in this world, so that's why I always have the utmost respect for my sisters. That's why I make sure I'm not out here disrespecting women and acting a fool.
There's not a lot of things to look out for in amateur boxing. Once the headgear comes off, once the 10-ounce gloves come on and you're fighting men and you're doing all these different things, that's where the experience comes.
I remember being on my death bed, and I found out in the newspaper that the Barclays Center was opening and that they were going to have fights here and me not knowing if I would ever be able to box again, let alone perform here.
I'm able to do motivational speaking all over the world and do so many positive things with my life because of my journey and the battles I've fought. Without cancer, I would have never had some of these opportunities, and I wouldn't be the man I am today.
I think waking up in the middle of the night and seeing stuff in the dark and thinking it is something scary or demonic. When you first wake up and you see things and you're eyes aren't open and things aren't what they seem. That happened to me like three weeks ago!
The little things I used to take for granted before I don't take for granted anymore. This whole situation has evolved me into a better person. Mentally, I'm much stronger, I'm more loving. I'm a man now. Cancer has played a huge role into making me into this person.
On October 20, 2012 - 17 months and two days after I was diagnosed with that rare form of bone cancer - I stepped back into the ring at the Barclays Center to fight Josh Luteran. He didn't make it out of the first round. Just 1:13 in, it was over. Knockout. I was back.
The doctors misdiagnosed me at first - they told me I had a pinched nerve. But my situation was getting worse. The tumor was cutting off the circulation in my nerves. And in two weeks' time, I was left paralyzed. I went from a cane to crutches to a walker to a wheelchair.
Being bullied is the reason I got into boxing. When I was 14, I was being bullied by a kid in junior high school. I wanted to do this the right way. So we went to a boxing gym. We boxed, I beat him up in the ring. He never bullied me again and I found my passion in the sport of boxing.
To not only be a cancer survivor, but to return to the sport of boxing, because, I mean, this is not basketball, this is not baseball, this is not a sport you play. This is a sport where you can die in the ring. So it says a lot to me to come back and be a world champion in that aspect.
I had such severe nerve damage that I didn't get the nerves all the way back. My pinky toe on my left foot is still numb, and I feel it when I'm in bed at night or when I'm by myself. That pins-and-needles feeling reminds me that life is precious, and don't take for granted what you have.
The thing I've most realized is that when people come up to me and tell me how much my story means to them, how much it was inspiration for them to see me fight through and push through with my career, I realized love is real. And there's no greater feeling in this world, to give back and touch people.
Canelo is not only the face of boxing, but he is probably pound-for-pound one of the best in the sport. He's one of the most recognized fighters in all our sport. I think a victory over him, a convincing victory, would definitely solidify my spot and it would be inevitable for people to know who Daniel Jacobs is.
When I was reading the Bible, I came across the word 'meek.' It means to be humble. I asked God, I want to become meek, allow me to become meek. About two months later I was struck with cancer. I realized this was God testing me. If you want to become appreciative, and humble, and meek, I'll strip you of everything.
I've always vowed that if I had a child, I would treat him right. My father was a perfect model for me because everything that he did wrong, or everything that he did I would just do the opposite. Which would be the right thing to do. So that is being in your son's life 100 percent, give them love, give them affection, give them discipline.