“I used to drink. I didn’t like reading, but I discovered the benefits of it. I read that Floyd Mayweather never drinks – and he is the blueprint for boxing.”

This is boxing, not tennis. Everyone likes a bit of rivalry, it makes for a good fight.

You’re confident, you’re going to the ring to fight, but there’s always that little thing where you’re thinking, ‘God.’ You’re nervous. But you have to embrace it and enjoy it.

The belt doesn’t represent me; it’s how you deal with people, how you represent yourself as a champion. The belt is a sign of a champion, but what makes a champion is the things I have just said.

I don’t have a strict diet; I keep it simple. I try to eat fish, meat, veg and carbs – potatoes and rice – but I’ll try and pack it in because as I’m burning so much energy. I have to see food as an energy source.

I am nice, yeah. I’m cool. But I’m no push-over. And if someone gets one over on me, they’ve done it when my eyes were closed, and it doesn’t happen twice.

There’s this idea that because I’m a heavyweight, I’m not supposed to be in condition, that I should take advantage of the fact that I can eat. But I train and eat well, and it shows when I step on the scales.

I want it all: I want the attention and live for the glory nights.

There’s so much pressure on becoming the next Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson, and if you don’t achieve that in boxing, you’re nothing.

Boxing is the embodiment of who I am, but beyond that, this is a journey of the self, and my obsession to get the most from this short life.

I’ll get seven hours sleep a night, but after breakfast, I’ll have an hour just resting, to recover. In Spain they all have siestas, even businessmen.

Don’t worry about the title. Worry about what you’ve got to do today, tomorrow, the next day, and that title will be waiting for you.

Boxing’s a sport that gives you licence to act like an idiot, I think.

People have built me up to be untouchable, unbeatable, invincible, and I’m not that. I am a man, and I am a winner, but that can change in a second.

When you are caught with a big shot, you don’t really feel it. It’s like being in a car crash, and maybe your arm has been ripped off… it is only when you look down at it that you realise it has happened.

I know every fight could be my last fight, and if that happens, that’s not just a health issue, but I’ll be knocked off that king’s stool.

No matter how big and strong you are even Tyson said he was scared as hell walking to the ring. Everyone feels the pressure.

Pressure is a privilege … it’s what you do with it that matters.

I was called Rembrandt Hope in my boxing days, because I spent so much time on the canvas.

Don King sucks…Don King sucks…Don King sucks.

What’s the use of being Irish if you can’t be thick?

The NBA has a voice that’s why they have a lockout. The NFL has a voice that’s why they had a lockout. Boxing is the only sport that’s individually represented the individual people – Managers, Promoters and Boxers.

This fight isn’t about boxing, it’s something deeper than that.

There are so many things I’ve done that the world of boxing has witnessed. It’s going to be difficult for the boxing people to pick one of my performances as the best.

There’s always a chance you will see something new in a fight. Especially in boxing.