Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I've learned a lot about life besides how to take a punch. And I've taken quite a few in and out of the ring.
I purposely lost a fight to Billy Fox because they promised me that I would get a shot to fight for the title if I did.
I always needed money when I was younger. I had different ways of getting it. A lot of the ways I don't like to talk about.
Big money causes me too much trouble with my ex-wives and the government. All I want is to keep busy and to be comfortable.
When you're No. 1 contender for five years, and you know who's controlling things, you'll do something you're not proud of.
Besides being a slum kid with no great education in anything except how to fight and stay alive and steal, I also had this temper.
Most of the time, husbands and wives argue about stupid, foolish things. If it doesn't mean that much to you, give in to your wife.
I hypnotized myself so in my subconscious, I believed I couldn't get hurt. And I don't mean 'believe' - I mean believe believe believe.
On the way here this guy steps up to us and says, 'Would you like to join Jehovah's Witnesses?' and Rocky (Graziano) says 'I didn't see nuttin!'
I ask for personal appearance fees because I've earned them. I deserve them. My presence at events is what they need, so they ought to pay for it.
I fought from the time I was eight years old, sometimes three, four fights a night. We did it to eat, and we did it because we were just tough kids.
My nose was broken six times, my hands six times, a few fractured ribs. Fifty stitches over my eyes. But the only place I got hurt was out of the ring.
I been in jail twice. The first time was reform school: they got me for carrying burglar's tools, something like that. The morals charge was a frame-up.
I never went to church. The priests couldn't scare me with all that crap about hell, but somehow I knew, inside of me somehow, I knew that I'd pay for it.
Subconsciously - I didn't know it then, I realize it today when I know a little bit more about the mind and the brain - I fought like I didn't deserve to live.
Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest, pound-for-pound, ever. He fought most of his career with just one loss, and that was to me. He had 131 fights with one loss.
I was so good at boxing because I worked hard. I worked harder than anybody. When other boxers used to box in the gym, three or four rounds, I used to box 10-20 rounds.
The three toughest fighters I ever fought were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson. I fought Sugar so many times, I'm surprised I'm not diabetic.
Ask most guys what their ambition is, and they'll say they want to get rich. But when they get rich, they discover it's not what they wanted at all. I don't want to be rich.
I was able to convince my body that I could take it and nobody could hurt me. I might've gotten cut, stitches over my eyes. Broken nose. Broken hands. But I never really got hurt.
You can't go into the ring and be a nice guy. I would go a month, two months, without having sex. It worked for me because it made me a vicious animal. You can't fight if you have any compassion or anything like that.
I waited all those years for a title shot, and when I finally got it, I had to pay $20,000 for the opportunity. My purse was only $18,000. So to make money, I had to bet $10,000 on myself at 8-5. That was how it was in those days.
Something's bound to happen to you in a tough fight: cut eye, broken nose or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you're a champ or you're a contender.
When I was a kid, I wanted to fight Joe Louis. But I think if I had seen Mike Tyson at that time, I would have said, 'Nah, I don't want to fight him.' He's deadly. He could have been one of the great heavyweight champions. But he goofed.
Forward, always moving forward, from the time I can remember - a kid. I was short, and the big guys would take advantage; I had to turn myself into a body puncher. By that time I was in reform school, they'd have a boxing match every week; they'd bring guys in from outside to fight me.