“When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap – people shouldn’t read that stuff.”

We all have to control our feelings. That’s the thing that separates us from animals.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Treat the world the way you want to be treated.

I felt the same fear in my first fight as I did in my last fight. It never goes away.

You never lose until you actually give up.

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

I normally don’t do interviews with women unless I fornicate with them.

A harsh reality of newspaper editing is that the deadlines don’t allow for the polish that you expect in books or even magazines

Books had instant replay long before televised sports.

I loved the photographs of people wearing elaborate makeup and costumes – they really pulled at me inside. I was in that library every week for years, until I was about 13. I had a rich interior life, because I didn’t have much of a social life.

People are usually surprised to hear this, but I don’t really read children’s books.

I read my books aloud before they were published.

I owe it all to art books, chocolate and young men.

Conflict resolution,’ said Nightingale. ‘Is this what they teach at Hendon these days?’ ‘Yes, sir,’ I said. ‘But don’t worry, they also teach us how to beat people with phone books and the ten best ways to plant evidence.

When I open many books, or most leading women’s magazines, or see almost all TV shows, I don’t find myself at all. I am completely anonymous. My value system is not there.