“It’s not so much about conquering Madison Square Garden or Vegas. The opponents who I fight will take me all around different venues and arenas. I need to conquer opponents.”

The way I meditate is by being organised. I can get real Zen if I go home and tidy the front room.

I didn’t make the most of school, but boxing has given me discipline.

Prayer is a form of meditation, isn’t it? It’s laws of attraction: whatever you put out into the universe is what it receives. It’s just kind of putting your thoughts out into the universe.

Wherever you get to is better than where you started. To stay on the road is a massive achievement.

Cardio is a nice way to start the morning, man. Whether you sit on the bike for half an hour or throw on two jumpers and just sweat, it’s good to get up, get the body active, put on your headphones, and just pedal away.

Ali was a legend of our sport. For me as a kid, he inspired me to represent myself like a champion in and out of the ring.

As long as you have discipline, you can be a success. Discipline is what makes you do everything you need to do.

People are paying to see me. You’ve got to give something back.

There are two types of warriors: the one that rides through on his horse and tries to slay everyone, and the sniper. I try to be more like the sniper. Bang. Bang. Bang. Break them down, shot by shot.

Sportsmen just do what they do. I’m not trying to be a role model. If there’s any inspiration people can take from me, take as much as you can – from my good and my bad.

What makes a champion great is how he dethrones the guy before him. Look at Mike Tyson against Trevor Berbick and how he crushed him. You have to rip the title away from him.

America is the mecca of boxing, and they’ve had some great champions here. It’s good to establish your skills and let people know what you’re about in the States.

I think towards the end of my career, I’m the man. But right now, I’ve still got that underdog mentality to keep on proving myself time and again. I’m not going to believe the hype.

The mental is more important than the physical. You know, that voice in your head telling you to give up if it gets tough. That’s my main opponent – making sure that if your body wants to stop, your mind won’t let you.

For me to have a cheeky little biscuit, it’s not going to hurt. But I need to control those indulgences. I can’t just be scoffing cakes and biscuits five nights a week.

I kind of focus on my own stuff, really, and then when people come into my territory, I’ve got to fight them away, and that’s what we do every time fight night happens.

The debate’s over. The people who dispute the international consensus on global warming are in the same category now with the people who think the moon landing was staged on a movie lot in Arizona.

Love is more powerful than kicking ass.

I never wanted to fight against the Union, but could not turn my back on Virginia.

But she wasn’t around, and that’s the thing when your parents die, you feel like instead of going in to every fight with backup, you are going into every fight alone.

I’m going to fight for human rights, whether I do it silently behind the scenes or vocally so that I get locked up. I can’t just sit back; it’s not in my nature. I can’t sit back and blindly ignore it, and I won’t.

Too much time is wasted fighting one self and life itself. Peace and fulfilment emerge the moment you embrace both.

Let me win? That doesn’t exist in my house. No one lets anyone win. Fight to the death.

I sometimes just don’t like to see the Ultimate Fighting. I just find it, as a martial artist, I just find it too violent.