I want to be great, something special.

Inactivity is the biggest sin in boxing.

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

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.

I'm not in favor of that [mandating protective headgear ] because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that's why there's a third man in the ring, the referee. And that's why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn't allow guys in the ring who don't belong there.

A fighter never knows when it's the last bell. He doesn't want to face that.

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