Thought this would be an interesting thread where all you guys can post some of your favourite quotes from over the generations, from your favourite fighters, inspiring words, things that may have piqued your interest into boxing...just anything memorable that you can think of that had an effect on you, anything inspiring...entertaining...insightful about the sweet science, etc.
Discuss :boxing:
I won't start off with anything obvious or cliche like an Ali 'float like a butterfly sting like a bee' quote but I think i'll start off with a few that I can think of off the top of my head that stick with me and remind me of the true nature of the sweet science.
"You can play football, you can play baseball, you can play...basketball! You can't 'play' boxing. Boxing...is serious stuff."
"Why did I want to win? Because I didn't want to lose!"
"The man without a chin, no stamina, dead man, broken man, whatever. On your way to the top, you always get some criticism. Criticism is a great motivation. Failure is not an option for me"
"They had a chance to face their demons and they didn't. You have to face your demons, you hear me Mike? Because if you don't, they'll follow you to eternity. You remember Mike you becareful how you fight your fight, because the way you fight your fight will be the way you live your life." Mike Tyson talking about Cus D'amato in undisputed truth.
Every time I'm faced with something these days, I think about that quote and gives me shivers.
Gotta love Kovalev - it's like he took lessons from Ivan Drago.
Q. So, look at the video (of the fight), what do you see?
SK. I see only target
Q. So what is your strategy for this (Cornelius White) fight?
SK. My strategy is simple - to keep hitting him as hard as I can.
Q. What were you saying? Did you want him (to quit)?
SK. No, I wanted him to get up so I could hit him some more.
On Jimmy Kimmel Show
Jimmy Kimmel: Do you wanna fight floyd winner take all?
Manny Pacquiao: "I'm gonna fight him winner takes all the Money"
ESPN: I don't know, but he does not wanna fight me.
And than in a press conference Hopkins states:
"I aint never losing to a white boy."
Right after, he loses to Joe Calazaghe.
B-Hop:
"... Every year, the mad professor thinks they have a Frankenstein that's going to get me. Well (...), bring on Frankenstein and let's get it on."
“Boxing is a sport of self-control. You must understand fear so you can manipulate it. Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional people.”
- Cus D'Amato.
"It's just a job, grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand.. I beat people up."
- Muhammad Ali
(Ali had a ton of great quotes, I just always thought this one was pretty cool)
"That black dude hits hard" -Ricardo Mayorga
It was an incorrect translation, he actually said "that black dude's hair is hard". Forrest had short dreadlocks.
"There are a lot of things and in order to be at the top and maintain your focus you have to have something that motivates you. For me, it was what I perceived as a lack of respect from the boxing world as well as the media, which made me want to work so hard and be great."
-Marvin Hagler
If you screw things up in tennis, it's 15-love. If you screw up in boxing, it's your ass."
-Randall Cobb
Cus D'amato has some great ones.
"A boy comes to me with a spark of interest, I feed the spark and it becomes a flame. I feed the flame and it becomes a fire. I feed the fire and it becomes a roaring blaze."
“When you get hit that’s when you’ve got to be calm. A professional fighter has to learn how to hit and not get hit, and at the same time be exciting. That’s what professional boxing is about. You’ve got to be clever, you’ve got to be smart, and not get hit, and when you’re able to do this, you’re a fighter.”
“Boxing is a sport of self-control. You must understand fear so you can manipulate it. Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional people.
On how the recognition and acknowledgement of fear is the crucial lesson he taught and was ignored by other trainers:
“Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning in any area, but particularly in boxing. For example, boxing is something you learn through repetition. You do it over and over and suddenly you’ve got it. …However, in the course of trying to learn, if you get hit and get hurt, this makes you cautious, and when you’re cautious you can’t repeat it, and when you can’t repeat it, it’s going to delay the learning process…When they…come up to the gym and say I want to be a fighter, the first thing I’d do was talk to them about fear…I would always use…the same example of the deer crossing an open field and upon approaching the clearing suddenly instinct tells him danger is there, and nature begins the survival process, which involves the body releasing adrenalin into the bloodstream, causing the heart to beat faster and enabling the deer to perform extraordinarily feats of agility and strength…It enables the deer to get out of range of the danger, helps him escape to the safety of the forest across the clearing…an example in which fear is your friend.
The thing a kid in the street fears the most is to be called yellow or chicken, and sometimes a kid will do the most stupid, wild, crazy things just to hide how scared he is. I often tell them that while fear is such an obnoxious thing, an embarrassing thing…nevertheless it is your friend, because anytime anyone saves your life perhaps a dozen times a day, no matter what how obnoxious he is, you’ve got to look upon him as a friend, and this is what fear is…Since nature gave us fear in order to help us survive, we cannot look upon it as an enemy. Just think how many times a day a person would die if he had no fear. He’d walk in front of cars, he’d die a dozen times a day. Fear is a protective mechanism….By talking to the fighters about fear I cut the learning time maybe as much as half, sometimes more, depending on the individual.”
Nice input, thanks.
Cus D'amato has some great ones.
"A boy comes to me with a spark of interest, I feed the spark and it becomes a flame. I feed the flame and it becomes a fire. I feed the fire and it becomes a roaring blaze."
“When you get hit that’s when you’ve got to be calm. A professional fighter has to learn how to hit and not get hit, and at the same time be exciting. That’s what professional boxing is about. You’ve got to be clever, you’ve got to be smart, and not get hit, and when you’re able to do this, you’re a fighter.”
“Boxing is a sport of self-control. You must understand fear so you can manipulate it. Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional people.
On how the recognition and acknowledgement of fear is the crucial lesson he taught and was ignored by other trainers:
“Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning in any area, but particularly in boxing. For example, boxing is something you learn through repetition. You do it over and over and suddenly you’ve got it. …However, in the course of trying to learn, if you get hit and get hurt, this makes you cautious, and when you’re cautious you can’t repeat it, and when you can’t repeat it, it’s going to delay the learning process…When they…come up to the gym and say I want to be a fighter, the first thing I’d do was talk to them about fear…I would always use…the same example of the deer crossing an open field and upon approaching the clearing suddenly instinct tells him danger is there, and nature begins the survival process, which involves the body releasing adrenalin into the bloodstream, causing the heart to beat faster and enabling the deer to perform extraordinarily feats of agility and strength…It enables the deer to get out of range of the danger, helps him escape to the safety of the forest across the clearing…an example in which fear is your friend.
The thing a kid in the street fears the most is to be called yellow or chicken, and sometimes a kid will do the most stupid, wild, crazy things just to hide how scared he is. I often tell them that while fear is such an obnoxious thing, an embarrassing thing…nevertheless it is your friend, because anytime anyone saves your life perhaps a dozen times a day, no matter what how obnoxious he is, you’ve got to look upon him as a friend, and this is what fear is…Since nature gave us fear in order to help us survive, we cannot look upon it as an enemy. Just think how many times a day a person would die if he had no fear. He’d walk in front of cars, he’d die a dozen times a day. Fear is a protective mechanism….By talking to the fighters about fear I cut the learning time maybe as much as half, sometimes more, depending on the individual.”
"WHO NECKS!"
Samuel Peters
haha yeah I remember that...but it's weird, like some people interpret it as 'who necks', I hear it as 'who nesh'...ah the 'Nigerian Nightmare' - whats the odds he got that from being a 'nightmare' to teach English to? :lol1:
There comes a time in this sport where you think, just before walking out in the ring, you think what am I doing this for? Oh man I'm so scared. I'm so nervous. I don't want to lose, but then in the back of your mind you know you've done all the training. But the nerves always are there. It's not about getting hurt. I never fear getting hurt. I always fear losing a fight and losing my pride.
"If he's gonna kill me, he's gotta be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that....... I don't know".
“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
― Muhammad Ali
All good :boxing: