I've had a long, long road with lots of ups and downs. But that's all behind me now.
All of the sports have a safety net, but boxing is the only sport that has none. So when the fighter is through, he is through. While he was fighting his management was very excited for him, but now that he is done, that management team is moving on.
I've spent most of my life in prison. I was a prisoner of my fear and my low self-esteem.
I'm a real person. I have real feelings. I have real thoughts. It's a quality people like about me. They can reach out and touch me. I wouldn't give it up for anything.
I was a left hooker, and I loved hooking. I also really liked to jab and mix it up right away.
I grew up in a big Irish, Catholic family. My dad was a pretty rough guy. So one of my brothers left home when he was 15 and found his way to the gym. It gave me the opportunity to go and spend some time with him and work out in the gym.
I had two managers who couldn't stand each other. I had a promoter, Don King, who couldn't get any fights, and I was fighting once a year. I knocked out Norton and then didn't fight for 13 months. Then I fight the heavyweight champion of the world.
Roberto Duran was the kind of guy who was a true fighter and you hardly see guys like that anymore.
Every Saturday and Sunday, when the other guys were out having a good time at the mall, I was at home working in the garden.
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.
It takes a strong person to admit he's got problems. Things are bugging you, you've got to get it out. Life is supposed to be peaches and cream, but it doesn't turn out that way. I sometimes found things confusing and sometimes didn't understand how things can be so difficult.
My career got sidetracked after fighting Holmes.
When somebody used to compliment me, I'd spend 10 minutes trying to talk them out of it.
Winning the Gloves made me believe I was somebody.
You can have more than one career, but you only have one family.
When you bottom out, you have to stand up and get going again.
I don't overswing any more. I can throw a punch and be right in position to punch again. No more 'Hail Mary' punches, where it took me five minutes to get back in position.
Too many fighters stay in the game for too long. They stay because it's awfully hard to walk away from the roar of the crowd. Really hard. You live for that and so you stay too long. And you might have a wife and kids to feed. So you keep fighting because you don't know how to do anything else.
I saw my brother have an altercation one time. He hit a guy with a left hook to the body and a right hand to the chin. He not only knocked the guy out, but out of wind. That stuck with me. It scared me.
I am involved in minor league baseball. I go around the country speaking to troubled youths, trying to help them understand that whatever path they choose, they'll need to really pay attention to it.
