Boxing was the only career where I wouldn't have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.
I think I've become one of the best finishers in boxing; if I hurt a guy, I normally take him out.
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.
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.
I lay around and wonder why you were always there for me.
Before the start of the '76 Olympics, I'd had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five
I want my fights to be seen as plays that have a beginning, a middle and an end
Were all given some sort of skill in life. Mine just happens to be beating up on people.
The Ricky Hatton that beat Kostya Tszyu in 2005 can beat Floyd Mayweather, he was so focused and in such amazing physical shape that he would have given anybody at that level a tough time.
I remember all the important fights. Vividly. In detail.
Holyfield is nothing but class, and I think he's a breath of fresh air for the sport.
It's different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it.
Look at football, where you still have injuries no matter how much they improve the helmets and other equipment.
I've always been quiet and kind of shy. I'm sociable, but I would probably migrate to a corner.
Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.
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 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.
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.
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.
It's hard to talk about yourself.
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.
Sugar Ray Robinson was probably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time.
Duran always disturbs me. The guy is just weird. Before our first fight, both Duran and his wife gave my wife the finger.
Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt.
I'm not in favor of that [mandating protective headgear ] because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that's why there's a third man in the ring, the referee. And that's why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn't allow guys in the ring who don't belong there.
