“When I was a boxer, I wanted to be champion of the world, not the richest man in the world.”

Read the Bible; it is your roadmap through life.

As a child I was sometimes so hungry that I used to dream that one day I’d get locked in a grocery store.

I get up in the morning looking for an adventure.

The Internal Revenue Service is the real undefeated heavyweight champion.

Choose wise and Godly people to advise you.

That’s my gift. I let that negativity roll off me like water off a duck’s back. If it’s not positive, I didn’t hear it. If you can overcome that, fights are easy.

If you can maintain that integrity in whatever you do, you can’t go wrong.

I didn’t come back for the money. I just got sick of beating people up for free.

You live and learn. Then you die and forget it all.

When I was a kid in Houston, we were so poor we couldn’t afford the last 2 letters, so we called ourselves po’.

In boxing, I had a lot of fear. Fear was good. But, for the first time, in the bout with Muhammad Ali, I didn’t have any fear. I thought, “This is easy. This is what I’ve been waiting for”. No fear at all. No nervousness. And I lost.

If you want it, leave your excuses behind and come and get it.

It embarrasses me to think of all those years I was buying silk suits and alligator shoes that were hurting my feet; cars that I just parked, and the dust would just build up on them.

Many people fail not so much because of their mistakes; they fail because they are afraid to try.

I know from experience that you should never give up on yourself or others, no matter what.

They say I don’t fight guys unless they’re on a respirator. That’s incorrect. They have to be at least 3 days off a respirator.

The greater our level of understanding, the harder the tests become.

True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.

I’m a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.

Champions have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.

Braggin’ is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.

The roughest and toughest fighter I fought was Joe Frazier.

I am grateful for all my victories, but I am especially grateful for my losses, because they only made me work harder.