I'm so opposite of my profession. No one - particularly my mother and father - ever thought I was going to be a boxer because I always felt that football and baseball were too dangerous. I was just such a quiet kid.

Inactivity is the biggest sin in boxing.

I've always believed that you can be whatever you want to be if you are willing to sacrifice and dedicate yourself.

People can do more than they ever believe they can do. Physically, mentally, academically. You have to be pushed. It hurts. But it's worth it, and it's a great thing.

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

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

I found boxing when I was 14 years old. I went down to the gym because my brother, who used to beat me up all the time, introduced me to boxing. I found boxing to be a sport that I felt safe in because I controlled what was in those four squares.