For me, to get any match is fine. For me to be thrown right into the mix and be named No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship is a blessing.
What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of 'The Naked and the Dead' and American literature's leading heavyweight contender, to Dan Wolf, the delphic editor of 'The Village Voice.'
I don't have a problem putting on or cutting weight. I would adapt my training if I'm training for a Light Heavyweight fight by using different techniques and by wearing a weight vest to get used to the extra fighting weight.
One has to explain to people that the EU in this form is the answer both to 1945 and to the 21st century, in a dramatically altered world with new heavyweights, and that Germany benefits from the continued integration of Europe in political, economic and societal ways. And, of course, that means the Germans will have to pay.
Klitschko was the reigning champion for a decade and regarded by many as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. I'm never going to face another opponent with that legacy.
One of the biggest obstacles I've overcome in my life was thinking I didn't deserve to be successful. Artistically I'm not as much of a heavyweight as someone like Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell, because I'm not a creator of original music, and I worried about that for years.
Fabio Maldonado jumped up to heavyweight for our fight, and while he wasn't ranked, he is a super-tough dude and had never been knocked out before.
Me, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Lyoto Machida, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, all shared a two-bedroom apartment together.
I think of Bret Hart as somebody who held the Intercontinental championship like it was the World Heavyweight championship. Every title match he was in felt important, like it was the most important thing on the show. The way he carried himself and the matches he had, it was just everything I thought a champion should be.
