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.

Sometimes it's boring because it takes time, but it's enjoyable. So beating up people for a living is really fun.

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 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.

[Anthony Joshua] is the best man in the division and I believe this excitement speaks for itself. This is what the fans want and this fight must happen.

That's the most terrible mistake you can make: to relax. It's difficult to become a champion, but it's more difficult to maintain it for many years because you're getting too comfortable.

In Soviet times the border was closed so we couldn't get out of the country, and I had been reading Robinson Crusoe. I wanted to see the ocean, I wanted to see boats, I wanted to see black people, because we didn't have that in the Soviet Union. I was all excited by that stuff.