Zitat des Tages von Sugar Ray Leonard:
Boxing will always be in my life.
You don't appreciate things until they're gone. For me, I miss my friends; I don't miss boxing, I miss the camaraderie.
Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are.
Before the start of the '76 Olympics, I'd had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five.
If I hadn't had the talent, the networks wouldn't have televised my fights. No one has made me; I made myself. I paid my dues.
I'm not religious, but I believe that what I have is a gift, and I respect it and live up to it.
I think an athlete should be honest. I know it's difficult, but if a guy knocked me on my can, I couldn't very well say, I slipped.
I didn't excel too highly in school, but I felt that I was moving ahead - and not just in boxing - but in life.
When you're a boxer, there is a lot of downtime and long periods of inactivity.
Boxing was not something I truly enjoyed. Like a lot of things in life, when you put the gloves on, it's better to give than to receive.
I came from nothing and achieved humungous fame and fortune. But I worked hard. I had discipline and determination. I had that ice in me.
To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training.
Boxing was the only career where I wouldn't have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.
I made an instant connection with boxing right away. Boxing became such a part of me. I ate boxing, I slept boxing, I lived boxing. Boxing was a way of expressing myself because I was not that outspoken.
Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt.
I wouldn't change anything because the mistakes and the hurt are as important as all the great fights. They made me who I am today.
Joe Frazier was the epitome of a champion. I mean, here is a guy who was total old school, blue collar, who would fight anybody. You know, he didn't tell you he was the best fighter pound for pound.
Although it was a great accomplishment to win a gold medal, as soon as they put it on you, that's it; your career is over.
At 14, I was the most disciplined guy around. I would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and run five miles, and then go to school. Sometimes I would run behind the school bus, and the kids thought I was just crazy. I knew what I wanted.
I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off.
They say that I'm stubborn, and my wife says that, too, but it's paid off so far.
When I was fighting, I would look to excite the crowds with a bolo punch or something taunting. Looking back, they were legal - but not sportsmanlike. I don't recommend another boxer try them. But we looked more to make the robot fights dramatic first and realistic second.
It's different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it.
Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.
When we got back to the U.S., I wanted to kiss the ground after seeing what people in other countries are denied or don't have.
I learned to run backwards from Muhammad Ali. He told me about running backwards because you try to imitate everything you do in the ring, so sometimes you back up. So you have to train your legs to go backwards.
For the most part, I think video games do a good job of capturing the essence of boxing. However, I'd like to continue to see them push the realism, emphasizing the skill involved.
I'm a competitor and a very proud man. If a guy beats me once, he'll have to do it again to make me believe him.
I think I've become one of the best finishers in boxing; if I hurt a guy, I normally take him out.
Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.
It's hard to talk about yourself.
Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.
When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.
Holyfield is nothing but class, and I think he's a breath of fresh air for the sport.
We're all given some sort of skill in life. Mine just happens to be beating up on people.
The thing about boxers is that there's respect there. You beat me, and I may not like it, but you know what, deep down inside, I respect you. And that's the code of honor.