When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.

I’ve never believed in tying myself up in a long-range contract, and I’ve been very outspoken on that subject.

You just don’t heal that easy unless you’re young.

I’m a free agent. I haven’t allowed any promoters to have exclusive options on my fight. I don’t need a promoter.

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.

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.

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.

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.

They say that I’m stubborn, and my wife says that, too, but it’s paid off so far.

Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are.

I was painfully initiated into boxing, because the guys I fought were a lot bigger than me.

Before the start of the ’76 Olympics, I’d had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five.

To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training.

I want my fights to be seen as plays that have a beginning, a middle and an end.

Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt.

Holyfield is nothing but class, and I think he’s a breath of fresh air for the sport.

No one but myself thought I could beat guys like Tommy Hearns or Roberto Duran.

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.

It’s different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it.

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.

Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.

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.

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.

I’m not religious, but I believe that what I have is a gift, and I respect it and live up to it.

Boxing brings out my aggressive instinct, not necessarily a killer instinct.

Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.

I’ll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That’s the only fear I have for myself.

Ali’s belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it’s become my own philosophy.

We’re all given some sort of skill in life. Mine just happens to be beating up on people.

I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off.

Duran always disturbs me. The guy is just weird. Before our first fight, both Duran and his wife gave my wife the finger.

It’s hard to talk about yourself.

I think I’ve become one of the best finishers in boxing; if I hurt a guy, I normally take him out.

When I’m not in training. I’ll walk around the streets at 153, but it’s not solid; it’s my socializing weight.

Boxing was the only career where I wouldn’t have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.

When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.

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.