I went with my friends to 'Boxers and Brawlers' in San Antonio to train the way I am supposed to train when you are 40, but doing it at a higher level.
A lot of boxers have too much on their plate.
Boxers risk a lot in the ring. That's one of the things that attracts me to it. You want to see a knockout but I also really don't want to see people get hurt. It's this constant dilemma when I'm watching boxing. The only times I get nervous is watching a really big fight or when my brother is playing. I get to the stage where I'm actually shaking.
From the neck up is where you win or lose the battle. It's the art of war. You have to lock yourself in and strategise your mindset. That's why boxers go to training camps: to shut down the noise and really zone in.
It's not often you get to sit in front of Nicole Kidman in your boxers with a big bowl of spaghetti.
Ali vs. Stevenson would have served as a symbolic battle between the United States and Cuba, capitalism and communism: Castro's values instilled in his boxers pitted against the values of 'merchandise' boxers from the rest of the world.
Boxing distills and illuminates the essence of an athlete. There's nowhere to hide. Boxers live and perform at the extremes. They provide us with answers about a given contest, but more important, they ask us fundamental questions about human narratives. What does this person really stand for? How far will he go to defend it?
My documentary 'Split Decision' examines Cuban-American relations, and the economic and cultural paradoxes that have shaped them since Castro's revolution, through the lens of elite Cuban boxers forced to choose between remaining in Cuba or defecting to America.
I traveled to Cuba with the intention of speaking with boxers who had turned down enormous offers to leave. When explaining my project to people, again and again I was met with amusement and skepticism.
Sculpture and seams are like boxers and broken noses: They go hand in hand.
