Wladimir Klitschko Quotes

I Was Psychologically Sick For 3 Days Afterwards.

Obsession is love in an extreme shape.

I learned in my Ph.D. the discipline I needed to be successful. Most boxers are not that disciplined. They have talent, but the self-organization - the ability to schedule yourself and your priorities - is lacking. My studies were about the control of training on both the psychological and the physical side.

I know he's retired, but I'm a big fan of Shaquille O'Neal, his game and his personality. I have a pair of his shoes in my office. You see the size of his shoe and think, 'This is not real, this couldn't belong to a human being.' But he is human!

I think a fight with David Haye, even if he is not American, is going to give positive vibes about the heavyweight division for the American fans and fans worldwide.

The man wannabe actually...a wannabe. David Haye's a wannabe.

Radiation doesn't recognize borders. A meltdown in Japan or India, say, is a danger to the whole world. Wind circulates the radiation everywhere. Water quality is affected. We all eat the same fish. We use products from all over the world - if something is contaminated, it will cause harm.

I have a Ph.D. in philosophy and sports science. At 14, I went through this really tough Soviet training system. A lot of my roommates got psychologically broken or physically injured. Either you came through, or you were out. I made my Ph.D. work in the field of young athletes aged 14-19 because at this age any human is changing.

Earlier in my career, I never thought of boxing as a chess game, but I confirm that they are, in fact, very similar. You can plan your fights and strategy just like you would in chess.

There is no money in this world that will make us fight.

After Chernobyl, thousands and thousands of people, if not millions, were given a death penalty and had to pay the price, our father among them.

Criticism is a great motivation. Failure is not an option to me.

I never fought in my life outside of a ring.

It is incredibly difficult to adjust to such a little fighter. Mormeck is similar to Mike Tyson, he is just a little still faster.

All of my fights are planned. I study my opponents from A to Z. How he walks, how he looks, how he speaks, gestures of the human body, which is a certain language that provides you lots of information if you have the ability to read it.

I don't care where people come from. It is not important to me. If you are good people will like you, if you're not, they won't. It is simple.

All the champions - you go and ask Mike Tyson or Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Lennox Lewis and myself included, and I'm sorry for putting myself in line with all the other great names - but the champion's attitude is it doesn't matter who is in front of me, I am going to conquer this person and win the fight and knock the person out.

I should say that mental strength is No. 1, experience [is] No. 2, physical strength is No. 3, and genetic ability that you're getting from Mother Nature probably comes after.

I've been doing this 26 years and have a lot of knowledge which will help me in the ring.

When people are tipsy, they're really encouraged and they wanna prove they can do something to the Heavyweight champion.

Politics is comparable to boxing. The only thing is that in politics there are basically no rules. In boxing, you can get a black eye, but in politics you can get poison in your food or a bullet in the head. It's definitely rougher and tougher than other sports.

You lose or you win the fight - and anything in life - in your mind. I can look at how the person walks, how he speaks, his expressions. It's a wisdom. Eyes are the mirror of the soul. So you can read a lot.

You can take your fitness seriously, but not yourself. That's the most difficult part: not to relax. That's the most difficult challenge I'm facing every fight.

Defeat will help you. I've been there and done that. I shook it off and came back stronger. It's nothing to be scared about.

Mental strength is really important because you either win or lose in your mind. And I'm not solely talking about sporting matches, boxing events - anything you do, you do it first with your mental strength. And you can actually train and develop it, and I am responsible for what I'm saying because I have experience with that.

I'm going to give him a pizza face.

I'm boring but effective.

He [Tyson Fury] will be difficult opponent to adjust to, because of his style of fighting and physical conditions. Fans will certainly not be bored.

Who's gonna win between two brothers? The Klitschko mother's gonna win because she said it won't happen.

I've fought everybody without ducking anyone. I have beaten 10 undefeated guys, and I never was comparing myself to the greatest in the sport. I was not thinking of breaking any records. I'm just enjoying my time in boxing.

The challenge for me is his size because, for the first time in my career, I'll be meeting an opponent who is taller than me and has a longer reach.

I would say that Roger Federer is pretty amazing. And Manny Pacquiao - he's such a tiny, little lightweight guy, but the way he fights makes people so excited.

The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That's the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet.

I'm trying to keep the face of my opponent more or less not damaged but eventually to execute the plan and knock him out.

I will teach you how to behave yourself in the ring.

I always train and prepare with highest concentration and focus on my next opponent. To me, it does not matter what his name is.

I think that boxing is actually not as dangerous as the politics. In boxing, you're gonna get a bloody nose or a black eye. In politics you can obviously get either dioxin in the food or bullet in the head.

I prepare for my fights to well that I don't wanna give a chance to my opponent to crash my 'glass chin' as they say, so I'm knocking them in the way that I like.

It is up to the people and boxing fans to give me the respect I deserve once I have finished my career. I personally do not think about my legacy.

I don't like to get hit, who likes it? I probably wouldn't do this sport if I was getting hit that much.

You have to learn the opponent psychologically inside out and mental strength is one of the important makers. You're either gonna break it or make it.

Only younger brothers will understand me. We're following in the footsteps of older brothers. You are looking up to your brother. You want to do the same things. You want to do as good as he and do it even better.

He's been an inspiration for me since the Olympics 1996.

In the old days, when Muhammad Ali was fighting Ken Norton, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, there was a lot of excitement in the heavyweight division, I have to admit it.

My height is an advantage, if I want to use it.

If he goes down, he is to get up, and continue to fight, until I finish the process.

From nothing to everything is a long way, from everything to nothing is one stop.

My brother is a doctor and he will take care of post-traumatic stress. I think he'll do it for free.