Vitali [Klitschko] does want to fight me, but his promoter wants to be bigger than him. This is another situation of politics in the sport.

I've found that taking shortcuts will get you to the place you don't want to be much quicker than they get u to the place u want to be.

I was very aggressive as a child. At primary school in London my attitude was 'If you don't do what I say, I'll knowk you out', and I was eventually expelled for fighting.

There were different heroes with different images. There was Mike Tyson, the animal, there was Evander Holyfield, the devout, the priest. And there was me, the thinker, the intellectual boxer. So there was something for every fan, if you like. The public could always identify with one of us.

Every era that comes along has a superstar that emerges. Once we are out of the game, there will be a superstar who will emerge that everyone will notice.

People want to see me back in the ring. I think it is more of a drag lying around on the beach.

I play chess about four hours a day in training camp. You have to decide what move to use, or what combination of moves. I think less when I box because the reaction time is a lot quicker, but some people call me the chess boxer because they say I think too much in the ring. I take my time and they don't see the action they want. Some boxers just go in there and just throw punches and hope to win.