“I was a little kid who used to fight a lot in the street—and get beat up.”

“Ever since I met [my wife], my life has been different. I have what I want. I have my Jewel in Millie.”

"My dad has never once told me after a fight that I did well.”

“I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and know I took everyone on.”

“When people say I can’t or I musn’t, I always say I can and I will.”

“I told you before, I’ll fight anyone. I don’t care.”

"By the time I retire, I will have fought the best. I will have made my money. Maybe I’ll be a boxing commentator. I’ll go back to school, definitely. I already have a plan. My life’s set. I’ll be on an island, married, playing golf in the sun. That will be my life."

"I fight instinctively."

"When my mother took me to amateur fights she’d scream: ‘Kick his butt’ at me from ringside. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed because, as a kid, you don’t want your mother shouting out at people, but she was, and remains, my biggest motivation.”

“Boxing has been in my blood since I can remember. It comes naturally to me, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since I started, at the age of six.”

“I wouldn’t recommend [boxing] to any child of mine. I would rather he played golf or something.”

“Every time I work out in the gym, every time I train, I know I’m going to do well. But I like surprising the fans, the critics, the people who doubt me.”

"Ever since I’ve been boxing, it’s always been the case that when I go inside the ring a switch goes off and my attitude changes totally from the person I am outside it. I really can’t explain why or how."

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