Zitat des Tages von Gerry Cooney:
My father was one tough man.
I've had a long, long road with lots of ups and downs. But that's all behind me now.
I think I make people laugh, and that's good in life.
I know I can fight; that's the only thing that matters to me.
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.
For every athlete, the roar of the crowd goes away, and we have to learn how to turn the page.
The bad press came because they thought I should fight more. I couldn't get the fights because if I would sign to fight one of King's guys I would be signed to him. I chose not to do that. In hindsight, that might have been a mistake.
I want to win. For myself first. And for all those people who stuck with me and understood.
Maybe I'll go to acting school. Acting is like boxing, you know.
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.
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.
The fight with Holmes was a plus. I gained so much experience.
Fighting is not something you can just turn off.
My father never once told me he loved me. I told him I loved him only one time - that was when he was sick. It was hard, the way he showed his love. I didn't understand what he was trying to teach me. Now I know, but it came too late for him to see it. After he was gone, I realized he was trying to strengthen my mind to make me better.
I don't want anybody guarding me. I want to be free; I want to be left alone... I would like to go out there and have no one know me, but at the same time, it would bother me, y'know.
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.
You have got to not get hit. You could be the best puncher in the world, but if you're going to keep constantly taking punches you're going to lose your heart. Once you learn how to miss the punches and then you start to punch them, you become an all-around fighter.
Roberto Duran was the kind of guy who was a true fighter and you hardly see guys like that anymore.
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.
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.
Growing up training, I use to get up so early I would wave to the garbage men going by. So, I had this relationship with Blue Collar America and I really liked it. I felt that lots of those people looked forward to me winning.
I believe in myself. I want to be a fighter. I want to be heavyweight champion of the world.
I have this want-to-be-liked thing, but deep down, I had this rage. I was just - I was blinded. I wasn't healthy enough to be able to learn more. I had one mode - to fight.
I am seeing all the guys, like Earnie Shavers, Tex Cobb, and Larry Holmes all the time.
When that bell rang, I wanted to go out there and do my thing.
When I see a fighter gets into the ring, I not only see the fighter, but I see his wife and children. I care about what happens to them. I care about what happens to that fighter after he gets out of the ring.
If you look at my career, towards the end you will see I was fighting like once a year. I was not part of the Don King top heavyweights, so I was kind of kept out. His guys were getting three to four fights a year and I could only get one.
Boxing was not the sport that I thought is was due to all the politics.
Everybody handles pressure differently.
I learned a lot from the Holmes fight. I learned about styles and the pressure. I'm more prepared now.
I feel very blessed.
Some have made boxing a terrible thing to be around.
We try to tell these guys that the end of a boxing career isn't the end of their lives: it's the beginning of a new one.
Looking back, I couldn't get enough fights because Don King owned most of the top 10 fighters, and he never gave me a fight.
I've spent most of my life in prison. I was a prisoner of my fear and my low self-esteem.
I was a left hooker, and I loved hooking. I also really liked to jab and mix it up right away.