“We knew Stiverne was tough. You’ve got to give it to him. He’s got a tough chin.”

Having patience is one of the hardest things about being human. We want to do it now, and we don’t want to wait. Sometimes we miss out on our blessing when we rush things and do it on our own time.

I don’t see myself being in the sport a very long period of time, so I want to fight as much as possible.

Street fight, you just ground and pound ’em. Boxing is totally different.

My daughter will find some of the sweetest words to tell you that can make a grown man cry. She still gives me the same inspiration. She still motivates me.

Whether somebody think badly of me, whether somebody don’t feel that I should be doing this or I should be doing that way, I don’t really care. Whether they think that my fatigue is being laid, legs are skinny, I don’t care.

I’ve been talking about unifying the division for a long time.

There comes a time when you have to put forth the action and actually see whether you’re really just talking to promote yourself, just to sell yourself, or to build your confidence or build confidence around you… or are you the real deal?

Against Bermane Stiverne, they said he was going to be the toughest test, but I passed that with flying colours.

Some guys like to fight on even playing grounds, and some guys like to cheat.

It’s contagious to do great. But once that one bad apple falls, everybody else will fall, and that’s how it is.

When they throw punches, the breathing, the sparring. The heavy bags being hit. All of that – it was a heavenly sound to me.

My dream was to play for Alabama – football, basketball.

This is no game. You get up in there, and you take some punches. You risk your life, and then let me see you talk then. That’s why I don’t respect people who criticize fighters.

I am going to get world-wide recognition from whoever wants it, and whoever wants to challenge me.

When I am in the ring, all I think about is knocking my opponent’s head off, getting him out of there. Hurting him. Putting pain to him. I will have no mercy. I will have no pity.

You have to, as an individual, know how to tune that stage of your life that’s in the past out.

Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fires, what do freedom fighters fight?

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.

There cannot be a happy ending to the fight between the raging gods and humans.

Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friends.

Winning is important, but survival is even more important. If you don’t survive, you don’t get to fight the next battle.

By accepting life’s limits and inevitabilities and working with them rather than fighting them, we become free.

If you are born an artist, you have no choice but to fight to stay an artist.

When you fight to honor racists, you show black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt. You can’t change history, but you can change this.