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I'll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That's the only fear I have for myself
I'll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That's the only fear I have for myself.
I've never believed in tying myself up in a long-range contract, and I've been very outspoken on that subject.
When I'm not in training. I'll walk around the streets at 153, but it's not solid; it's my socializing weight.
I didn't excel too highly in school, but I felt that I was moving ahead - and not just in boxing - but in life.
Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.
I'm a competitor and a very proud man. If a guy beats me once, he'll have to do it again to make me believe him.
Look at football, where you still have injuries no matter how much they improve the helmets and other equipment.
I'm a free agent. I haven't allowed any promoters to have exclusive options on my fight. I don't need a promoter.
I've always believed that you can be whatever you want to be if you are willing to sacrifice and dedicate yourself.
Tommy Hearns seemed like an indestructible machine, so to beat him, I think that was my defining moment, the pinnacle.
You don't appreciate things until they're gone. For me, I miss my friends; I don't miss boxing, I miss the camaraderie.
You get these moments in the ring that live forever. That's what Muhammad Ali accomplished, and I hope that I have, too.
Duran always disturbs me. The guy is just weird. Before our first fight, both Duran and his wife gave my wife the finger.
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.
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
In Italy, I had an Afro, and a lot of the kids came up and felt my hair. It really was funny. I wish I had understood Italian.
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.
When we got back to the U.S., I wanted to kiss the ground after seeing what people in other countries are denied or don't have.
I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural. From that moment I became so embedded in boxing. I found a friend in boxing.
I wouldnt change anything because the mistakes and the hurt are as important as all the great fights. They made me who I am today.
While each of us faces enormous challenges every day, it's not the sins we commit that will define us, its how we respond to them.
I think an athlete should be honest. I know it's difficult, but if a guy knocked me on my can, I couldn't very well say, I slipped.
I asked my kids, 'Do you know what Papa used to do.' They said, 'You were a boxer, you won the Olympics!' And that's what they know.
I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off.
It's different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it.
To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training.
Boxing is the ultimate challenge. There's nothing that can compare to testing yourself the way you do every time you step in the ring.
Boxing was not something I truly enjoyed. Like a lot of things in life, when you put the gloves on, it's better to give than to receive.
I came from nothing and achieved humungous fame and fortune. But I worked hard. I had discipline and determination. I had that ice in me.
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.
I made mistakes, but I'm luckier than most. I've got a successful business, lots of fans who think a lot of me and a family who loves me.
To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and just focusing on training.
Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.
I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up.
I had a drug problem. I'd go to parties, take a leak, and there was cocaine right there. I was 25 when it started, rich, famous, and retired.
I enjoyed [Celebrity Ghost Stories]. I never thought in a million years that I would tell people that I saw a ghost. And I've seen a lot of ghosts.
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.
Boxing's a poor man's sport. We can't afford to play golf or tennis. It is what it is. It's kept so many kids off the street. It kept me off the street.
My intention was to fight Durán ASAP because I knew Durán's habits. I knew he would indulge himself, he'd gain 40–50 lbs and then sweat it off to make 147.
I went through real darkness, but the ring was my light. That was the one place I felt safe. I could control what happened in the ring. My heart turned icy.
For some reason, I was drawn towards boxing. Or maybe boxing drew me towards it - because once I put those gloves on, after about six months, boxing was my life.
Boxing is a sport, but it's also entertainment. I wanted to transcend the sport and be considered just not as a fighter, or a champion, but someone very special.
Someone once said there was a comparison between Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson. Believe me, there's no comparison. Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest.
People can do more than they ever believe they can do. Physically, mentally, academically. You have to be pushed. It hurts. But it's worth it, and it's a great thing.
My toughest fight was myself. For me to disclose and let things out was not easy because we don't want to seem weak or like we are different, but I learned that it's okay.
The thing about boxers is that there's respect there. You beat me, and I may not like it, but you know what, deep down inside, I respect you. And that's the code of honor.
My very best memory of Montreal was the moment inside the Olympic arena when I was waiting under the stadium and those majestic gates opened up. It was a whole other world.
For the most part, I think video games do a good job of capturing the essence of boxing. However, I'd like to continue to see them push the realism, emphasizing the skill involved.
I was not from a middle-class family at all. I did not have middle-class possessions and what have you. But I had middle-class parents who gave me what was needed to survive in society.