Boxing Quotes - Page 26

I'm not Mother Teresa, but I'm not Charles Manson, either.

Don't be surprised if I behave like a savage. I am a savage

It's nothing personal, but I'm going to kill this guy

If he's not dead, it doesn't count.

I tried to stay away from King. You can't do it. It's like staying away from taxes. Sooner or later, he'll get you.

I'm not even a household name in my own household

I have so many boxing gloves around my house that I would get them confused with other gloves.

In boxing, you don't know what's going to happen. In wrestling, it's already prearranged.

I'm the worst surfer in California. My balance is off from boxing.

I sometimes say I am in a relationship with boxing.

I'm a huge boxing fan. I love the strategy and the combat.

I'm concentrating so much I don't know what I'm doing half the time.

In boxing, you never know who you're going to face in the ring.

For me, boxing isn't about hurting each other. Boxing is entertainment and making people happy.

With experience in boxing, you learn how to be a scientific boxer and how to fight easy.

The biggest fight in my life is not in boxing. The biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country.

I do shadow boxing and use a heavy bag, but I don't spar with anyone.

Thomas Hauser respects boxing and boxers. He gives readers insight into what happens in and out of the ring. Everything he writes is fair-minded and reality-based with a human touch.

I am proud to be in Los Angeles. I have a lot of fans that love me here. When you talk about the Meccas of boxing - Las Vegas, New York - now you have to talk about Los Angeles.

A boxer should quit at the top, as they say. But that’s complicated. There are plenty of people in boxing who make money out off you. And they tell you that you’ve still got it, that it’s still getting better.

Boxing always was corrupt and always will be corrupt. The three world champion's belts really are absurd. One single association would make this business more reputable. Just as powerful as the promoters, is the media. The cable networks control the cash flow. You can’t ignore the influence the media and the promoters have on the sport. They have a financial objective - high ratings, selling pay-per-views and selling out arenas. Because of the system, the public may not be seeing the best the sport has to offer, but what sells.

Patience is a part of boxing. After I had missed out on the Olympic gold medal in 1984, a lot of people tried to talk me into turning professional quickly to make money. They told me that the next Olympics in Seoul would be boycotted again, that I was wasting my life, blah blah. But I still had unfinished business. I wanted the gold medal, and I got it in ‘88. Only then was I ready to turn professional.

Boxing and chess are similar. It’s about the choice of means. Sometimes I need a pawn, a bishop or a knight to defeat my opponent. It’s about finding the best way. A good boxer has to be variable. He doesn’t just need to know how to punch. He must also know how to protect himself, how to defend, how to avoid the opponent’s punches. Only a complete fighter can become champion.

A great champion needs a background in amateur boxing, I’'m convinced of that. There you learn everything that you’ll need later as a pro. Someone who’s got more than 400 amateur fights behind him no longer gets nervous before going into the ring and doesn’t lose his nerve during a fight. You know all the boxing styles, you’re prepared for anything, you’ve got the pedigree that you need to be a successful pro.

Boxing involves the possibility of defeat, I accepted that very early on. After all, there are only two men and one of them wins.