I lost my first fight at the Boys Club at 11 years old and quit the team. My mother told me I had to go back because she didn't raise no quitter. I lost a second fight and quit again and still my mother wouldn't let me. She made me go back and try again.

Odds are just the people opinion. Respect your own opinion.

Deep down, I reckon the sweetest moment will come when it's finally all over. When, at last, I know that I can stop fighting. Of course it'll also be a little sad. The sweetest moments, y'know, always come with just a little sadness.

Madison Square Garden, November 1984. I don't recall taking too much fear into the ring. I knew I could fight. But I got a big shock. They put me in with this rough, tough veteran called Lionel Byarm. He tested me to the limit. But I fought my heart out and, in the end, I prevailed. The story of my life, in my very first fight.

If you quit every time things don't go your way, then you'll be quitting all through your life.

A setback only paves the way for a comeback.

A champion shows who he is by what he does.