Mike Tyson Quotes - 118 quotes

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Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is an American professional boxer. Known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20. He earned nicknames like “Iron Mike” and "The Baddest Man on the Planet". He was born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New Y... show more

quote icon I'm the best ever. I'm the most brutal and vicious, and most ruthless champion there's ever been. There's no one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No, I'm Alexander, he's no Alexander. I'm the best ever! There's never been anybody as ruthless! I'm Sonny Liston, I'm Jack Dempsey. There's no one like me. I'm from their cloth. There's no one that can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!

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quote icon Let’s try something new. Let’s run America like a business, where no colors matter. Whoever can do the job, gets the job.

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quote icon Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.

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quote icon It's a real challenge. I don't know if I like this sober guy. It's hard for me to live normal. Straight is hard.

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quote icon I was an emotional manipulator of fighters . . . You have to know how to be cold, you know? Just have no -emotions, no feelings. It takes time, though, to develop that. I'd been working on that since I was 12 years old. It doesn't happen overnight.

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quote icon In order to be a friend to anybody, you have to be a friend to yourself. If you're not a friend to yourself, there's no way you're gonna have any friends.

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quote icon Any man can do what he has to do. But doing it like you love it? That is what takes it to a whole different level. A champion does it like he loves it, even when he doesn't.

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quote icon Sometimes, the people we invest the most time in disappoint us the most.

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quote icon Every great general and warrior from the beginning of time was high.

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quote icon Hard times fall upon everybody. Whatever it is, we're going to get out of it.

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quote icon You have to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. I'm always comfortable being uncomfortable. And to be comfortable being uncomfortable, I have to hone my discipline, which to me is doing what I have to do, but also doing it like I love it.

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quote icon I don't want my kids to be like me, I don't want my daughter to date a guy like me. You know, for a guy like me success is to take care of my children to take care of their life and make 'em cushioned. I don't want them to be around people like me. You know, success for me would be that they never have the opportunity of being in the presence of someone like me.

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quote icon The mind is a real dangerous neighborhood to travel by ourselves.

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quote icon Everybody wants to be somebody. Everybody wants to be noticed. Everybody wants to be somebody important. Importance is just treating people good. That's important.

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quote icon I feel like sometimes that I was not meant for this society.

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quote icon I'm just like you. I enjoy the forbidden fruits in life, too.

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quote icon [Cus D'Amato] told me, 'You're the type of guy who has to be hurt to learn.' I'm pissed off today because he was right about everything.

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quote icon I had it in my mind: to be confident, and to keep saying that until the confidence appeared. But I took it too far. Confidence did help make me champion, but, man, I took it to a whole different level. I was a megalomaniac. I was not humble and it eventually came back on me. So I want my kids to know, keep humbleness and kindness in their hearts. It will prevail.

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quote icon I learned that the strong will always beat the weak, but the smart will beat the strong. Boxing is a tough guy sport. But in the end, the tough guy gets to clean the streets and be a bodyguard. In the ring, the tough guy is going to get hurt; at the end of the day, he's going to talk funny. Only the smartest win. So, I know it's cliché, but power - real power - comes from knowledge, comes from smarts.

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quote icon Real freedom is having nothing. I was freer when I didn't have a cent.

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quote icon These books ain't window dressing. I think Machiavelli's the most sophisticated writer outside of Shakespeare. Way ahead of his time. Such a manipulative person. Everything he accomplished he did by kissin' ass.

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quote icon I've been a prima-dona. I was taken care of since I was 13. That's why I am the way I am today. I was spoiled, like a brat. I had anything I wanted. That's crazy to be that way all your life. Everybody's taking care of you, but manipulating you at the same time. Very few people have a life like that. Most people have to work like slaves their whole lives. I've never had a job in my life. What I know how to do is hurt big, tough men - in the street and off.

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quote icon As human beings, nobody gets out of this world free. We all have to do some suffering before we leave.

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quote icon When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him.

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quote icon Everybody in America is so money-hungry. It's like a rat race and even when you win you're still a freaking rat.

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quote icon Fear is something that we create in our own minds. Fear could be like fire. You can use it to heat you up, keep you warm, cook your food. There are so many things you can use it for. But if you allow it to go out of control, it will destroy you and everything around you.

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quote icon I don't care how much you love each other, if you have secrets, it'll never work. That's why she's your loved one, because it's the love of one. Togetherness, you are one.

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quote icon If you have a lawyer, sometimes you can get out of trouble. I've gotten into a lot of trouble because I didn't have a lawyer. I've also had some bad lawyers, too. But the good ones, the ones I liked, they became me. They became whatever situation I was involved in. When I felt pain, so did they. When I succeeded, so did they. They became me. They became whatever the situation was that they became involved with.

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quote icon My objective was to hurt the other fighters. I wanted to hurt them. I wanted to be merciless. Man, I was a wild thing. It's kind of a drug, a rush.

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quote icon I like entertaining people. I like being on stage. I like being in the life. This is what I do. This is the only thing I know how to do besides rob people and fight. Even when I was robbing people, I was entertaining them. But that's just what I love doing.

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quote icon If Mike Tyson is in your courtroom and you don't send him to jail, it's an injustice. Everyone knows he's a bad guy. So if he is in your courtroom, he should go to jail.

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quote icon If you did everything your mind told you to do, you do some really strange stuff. You'll probably be in jail, you'll be in trouble. But, it's all about control. We all have to control our feelings. That's the thing that separates us from animals.

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quote icon I ain't never loan friends money; I give it to 'em and I don't expect to get it back. Even when he says, "I'll pay you back," I never expect it. If he gives it back, then hey, that's a feather in his cap, but I don't expect to get it back.

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quote icon I learned this word: self-preservation. Once you do that, you can be friends with people, but how would you be a friend to anybody if you're not a friend to yourself.

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quote icon At times, I come across as crude or crass, that irritates you when I come across like a Neanderthal or a babbling idiot at times. But I like to be that person. I like to show you all that person because that's who you come to see.

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quote icon Sometimes during a relationship, a friendship, a friend's gonna have to prove they're your friend, and you're gonna have to prove you're their friend.

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quote icon If my children will live a better life than I did by my getting brain damage, by my being brain dead, then let it be.

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quote icon I ain't the same person I was when I bit that guy's ear off.

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quote icon I like the hip writers: Fitzgerald, the guy who committed suicide, Hemingway, all those guys. Some of them were alcoholics and drug addicts but they had fun. They were real people. They formed the culture of American literature. Hemingway admired Tolstoy, Tolstoy admired Pushkin, and Mailer admired Hemingway. It all flows down. The greats are all connected. One day I'm gonna write a book myself. The first chapter will be about what a rough deal my momma got. She believed in you guys and your society.

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quote icon What I want to do in life is just be a respectful man and just take care of my children and guide my family in the right direction.

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quote icon I'm the biggest fighter in the history of the sport. If you don't believe it, check the cash register.

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quote icon I could never stop drugs, I could never stop drinking, until I received my spiritual awakening.

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quote icon This is a weird feeling in my life I have to deal with, not being a violent man anymore when my whole life's reputation was built on being extremely violent. I just don't know how to deal with that right now. I don't even go to strip clubs no more. I don't know who I am sometimes, but I am not the guy I used to be. I'm not an angel or anything. I'm still lascivious, periodically. I'm just looking for some balance in my life.

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quote icon I'm happy because - I'm not doing anything deceitful, I think, to my family. I'm successful because I don't have to sleep with one of my friends' girlfriends or wife or something. That's why I'm successful, that's success to me. I'm not dead, I'm not in the gutter - that's success to me.

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quote icon I'm here to serve God and be of service. I'm nothing; everything out here is a lot bigger than me.

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quote icon Sometimes you have to wait for the right deal. They all seem good, at least at first, and they may make you some quick money. But when the right deal comes, and it fits into your [overall] plan, it's just overwhelming success.

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quote icon I don't know that person anymore, that guy in '86, '87. I don't know that guy no more. I don't have no affinity for that guy no more. I have no affinity for the guy who said, 'I am the greatest fighter God produced.' I have no affinity for the guy who said he would try to push his [opponent's] nose bone up into his brain. I just don't know that guy. I don't know who he is. I don't know where he came from. I don't have no kind of connection with him no more.

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quote icon No one who isn't an extremist can understand the mind of an extremist.

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quote icon When I was young, I thought I was a god. Now, I just basically work on staying humble. My priorities changed. Just to be able to try to change them - that was frightening to me.

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quote icon I'm just trying to change my life because I'm not above killing any drug dealer for money.

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quote icon If they don't have that extreme addict personality, you can never understand how a guy can blow 300 or 400 million dollars. If I have to live at the top of the world, I also have to live at the bottom of the ocean. I don't know how to live in the middle of life.

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quote icon Back when I was a kid, I never liked the kind of kids that my kids have become. They're privileged and have things very easy. But I'm proud of them.

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quote icon I just want to try everything. I want to see how good I can be, the best I can be at what I'm doing. I want to do everything. You know? I want to be in a musical. I want to do everything. I want to try and sing.

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quote icon No one's failed more than I did. No one's seen more than I've seen. I'm the king of the barbarians. There's no one who can surpass me in the pain I've endured.

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quote icon I want to change my life, I want to live a different life now. I want to live my sober life. I don't want to die.

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quote icon To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you

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quote icon In order to succeed greatly, you have to be prepared to fail greatly. If you can't do both of them, you've got a problem.

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quote icon You never lose until you actually give up.

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quote icon At one point, I thought life was about acquiring things. But as a I get older, life is totally about losing everything.

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quote icon I'll never be happy. I believe I'll die alone. I would want it that way. I've been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I'm really lost, but I'm trying to find myself. I'm really a sad, pathetic case. My whole life has been a waste. I've been a failure. I just want to escape.

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quote icon There's nothing like being young, and happy, and fighting.

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quote icon You need to learn independence. You have to be independent - it builds character.

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quote icon Confidence applied properly is the path of genius. You must always be in a state of confidence. And the way you sustain a state of confidence is by testing yourself. Difficult quagmires that may occur; there's always a test. You have to seek them out. You constantly have to test yourself to prepare for these quagmires. That's why I always put myself to the test.

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quote icon I don't try to intimidate anybody before a fight. That's nonsense. I intimidate people by hitting them.

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quote icon I try my best to learn from other people's mistakes. I have a lot of respect for people who can change.

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quote icon Tupac Shakur always wanted me to smoke weed with him, and I never did it, and I wish I did...That's my biggest regret.

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quote icon Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it.

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quote icon Destroy or be destroyed! I just love that way of life!

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quote icon Everybody you fight is not your enemy and everybody who helps you is not your friend.

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quote icon I don't react to a tragic happening any more. I took so many bad things as a kid and some people think I don't care about anything. It's just too hard for me to get emotional. I can't cry no more.

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quote icon I could feel his muscle tissues collapse under my force. It's ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.

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quote icon Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning. But fear is your best friend. Fear is like fire. If you learn to control it, you let it work for you. If you don’t learn to control it, it’ll destroy you and everything around you. Like a snowball on a hill, you can pick it up and throw it or do anything you want with it before it starts rolling down, but once it rolls down and gets so big, it’ll crush you to death. So one must never allow fear to develop and build up without having control over it, because if you don’t you won’t be able to achieve your objective or save your life.

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quote icon When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap - people shouldn't read that stuff.

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quote icon I refuse to let adversity allow me to be average.

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quote icon Fighting is a sport; if you're not humble it's going to bring humbleness to you.

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quote icon There's nothing wrong with making mistakes, just don't make the same ones. We don't want to duplicate them.

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quote icon I was in handcuffs. I was under arrest. I remember there was this old lady looking at me, and I could tell she felt real sorry for me, and she did'nt know but all I wanted to do was take her purse.

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quote icon It's good to know how to read, but it's dangerous to know how to read and not how to interpret what you're reading.

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quote icon I'm scared every time I go into the ring, but it's how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, 'Let's go.'

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quote icon Fighting is not physical, fighting is spiritual. It's the determination and the will in the guy.

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quote icon Confidence breeds success & success breeds confidence... Confidence applied properly surpasses genius.

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quote icon To some people the ego is evil. It gives you so much. It gives you everything you want. But it takes back too much in return. It gives you everything: money, riches, women, glamour, everything you want. But in return it takes back so much, and you're soulless. That's its goal. The ego's goal is to leave you soulless.

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quote icon Yes, time flies. And where did it leave you? Old too soon...smart too late.

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quote icon Without struggle, there is no progress. There has to be struggle in your life. You have to grow in experience to control your ego. Cause, you know, an ego can be crushed, it can be killed, it can be smashed, but it comes back. It never dies. That's the thing about the ego: it never dies.

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quote icon You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour. If Tetris has taught me anything, it's that errors pile up & accomplishments disappear. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

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quote icon Fear is like fire; it can be helpful if you know how to use. If not, you'll get burned.

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quote icon I'm a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds.

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quote icon It's the emotional punches that you can't see that are just overwhelmingly devastating to your heart - your moral fiber.

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quote icon Most of my fans are too sensitive. I’m a cruel and cold and hard person. I’ve been abused in every way you can imagine. Save your tears. I lost my sensitivity. You embarrass me when you cry.

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quote icon I'm a strong disciplinarian; I can do what I hate to do but do it like I love it.

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quote icon Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you. If you can control your fear, it makes you more alert, like a deer coming across the lawn.

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quote icon My biggest weakness is my sensitivity. I am too sensitive a person.

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quote icon Every win, regardless a good or bad one, gives you more confidence.

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quote icon Money is my God. If you think God will help you then quit your job and see how much he cares.

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quote icon We're all going to have tests in our life... We never know when that test comes, but we know we have to be prepared for it. We're all going to be tested. The dark energy is going to knock on all of our doors.

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quote icon I'm gonna make sure you talk about me, and your grandkids and kids after that gonna know about me...your great grandkids will say "wow, wasn't that a bizarre individual?"

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quote icon There are nine million people who see me in the ring and hate my guts. Most of them are white. That's okay. Just spell my name right.

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quote icon Don't be surprised if I behave like a savage. I am a savage.

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quote icon I want someone to attack me. No weapons. Just me and him. I like to beat men and beat them bad.

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quote icon When you have something in life that you want to accomplish greatly, you have to be willing to give up your happiness…I’ve lost all my sensitivity as far as being embarrassed, being shy, you just have to lose that.

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quote icon I'm on the Zoloft to keep from killing y'all.

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quote icon I'm addicted to perfection. Problem with my life is I was always also addicted to chaos. Perfect chaos.

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quote icon When Jesus comes back, these crazy, greedy, capitalistic men are gonna kill him again.

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quote icon Most fighters are the most humble people in the world because they've gotten their ass kicked before.

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quote icon I'm a bad guy. But if I was a good guy, nobody would want to pay to see me fight.

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quote icon You stand your ground and you perform your art. That's what the artist does. The artist is about perfection.

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quote icon Everybody thinks this is a tough man's sport. This is not a tough man's sport. This is a thinking man's sport. A tough man is gonna get hurt real bad in this sport.

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quote icon I'm in trouble because I'm normal and slightly arrogant. A lot of people don't like themselves and I happen to be totally in love with myself.

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quote icon Fighting is all about calmness and relaxation. My appearance was all an illusion. My appearance is of a mad man, but I'm really calm and collected. Even though I'm fighting, I'm calm and relaxed as possible, despite my displays, because once you get excited, you can't fight at the highest level of your ability.

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quote icon No one wants to get up at 4 and run when it's pitch-dark, but it has to be done. The only reason i do it so early is because i believe the other guy isn't doing it and that gives me a little edge

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quote icon Whatever you want, especially when you’re striving to be the best in the world at something, there’ll always be disappointments, and you can’t be emotionally tied to them, cos’ they’ll break your spirit.

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quote icon Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end.

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quote icon People relate to fighters so much because fighting reflects life.

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quote icon People say 'Poor guy.' That insults me. I despise sympathy. So I screwed up. I made some mistakes. 'Poor guy,' like I'm some victim. There's nothing poor about me.

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quote icon Boxing brought me money and fame, but it never brought me no happiness.

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quote icon These pigeons have been living with each other for 10 or 15 years, but when I throw feed down, they kill each other to get it, and it's the same with the fighters. We love and respect each other...but we need that money.

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quote icon People see it [boxing] as a physical contact sport, but it's not. It's really a spiritual one of will against will. Who wants it the most? How much is he willing to take - and dish out - to get it? It's like fighting is 10 percent physical and 90 percent emotional.

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quote icon Man is not meant to be humble, he’s meant to be humbled.

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