It is wonderful. It truly is. It is the only thing that is real! It's you against me, it's challenging another guy's manhood. With gloves. Words cannot describe that feeling of being a man, of being a gladiator, of being a warrior. It's irreplaceable.

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

I always expect unexpected challenges.

I saw Todd Bridges talk about being abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did. When I told my wife, she couldn't believe it. She was petrified, because it's such a no-no, taboo, a hands-off subject. But I'd have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my watershed moment.

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

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