I lost three times in my career. Losing to Holmes I could deal with, because I lost to a true champion.

You have a small period of time when you can perfect your career and become good at it. A lot of guys get distracted, which only hurts them. You must stay focused and work very hard at boxing.

Boxing was not the sport that I thought is was due to all the politics.

I was a small kid from Huntington, Long Island. I never imagined that anything like that would happen to me.

You take that walk from the dressing room to the ring and that's when the real man comes out. Then you climb up those four stairs and into the ring. Then finally, you can't wait for the bell to ring.

All of the sports have a safety net, but boxing is the only sport that has none.

Muhammad Ali was the kind of guy you either loved or hated, but you wanted to see him. I happen to really love him. He brought boxing to another level and always made you laugh.

Roberto Duran was the kind of guy who was a true fighter and you hardly see guys like that anymore.

By the time you're 30 years old, you can be on a nowhere street, if you're not careful.

I am seeing all the guys, like Earnie Shavers, Tex Cobb, and Larry Holmes all the time.

The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before going in with [Larry] Holmes. That would have made all the difference.

Don’t allow the challenges to overpower you. Choose a positive attitude and persistent endurance over defeat.

When the outlook is steeped in pessimism, I remind myself, "Two and two still make four, and you can't keep humankind down for long."

It's exciting to take control of your future instead of waiting for the phone to ring.

There's something desirable about anything you're used to as opposed to something you're not.

A scar is a sign of strength. . .the sign of a survivor.

Anyone who acquires more than the usual amount of knowledge concerning a subject is bound to leave it as his contribution to the knowledge of the world.

Time spent in a casino is time given to death, a foretaste of the hour when one's flesh will be diverted to the purposes of the worm and not of the will.

Of a thousand shavers, two do not shave so much alike as not to be distinguished.

Labor's face is wrinkled with the wind, and swarthy with the sun.