It would be cool to let people know that it doesn’t matter what kind of background you have in your past, that you can still make something out of your life.
I just really want to put the past behind me, because it makes me angry thinking about it. But it’s also the reason I’ve made it this far in my career. It’s like, built up in me. It’s what I think about when I fight. My childhood.
The only reason I want to climb up the rankings – beating the champion and beating guys in the top five – those are the guys that get the endorsements and get the most money and get paid the most. That’s the only reason why.
You’ve really got to stay ready 24/7. You really can’t get ready because there’s no telling. They’ll call you short notice to fight anyone so you really have to stay ready.
A lot of people said I would never make it, and this and that, I’d never be a top 10 fighter, that I’d never fight for a title. Just stuff like that. Achieving all those goals and being the person that I am, this is going against everything everyone said I couldn’t do.
It’s all the stuff I’ve been through in my life. From family struggles, people doubting me, things I went through as a child and going to prison, they all played a factor in who I am today. It really made me a better person. Going through those situations can make or break you as a human being.
