I talk to amateurs, up-and-coming guys, fighters older than me, and we compare notes to teach each other how to leave this game on top from a legacy and financial standpoint.
— Andre Ward
My question is why does every African American fighter have to be the villain?
Once you go up in weight, I will never go down; you just don't do it.
I don't necessarily think fighters should fight killers every time, but at some point in time, fighters should be fighting the best in their division, period.
I typically do the opposite of what people think I am going to do.
Chasing greatness - it's what I'm about.
When you make a stance, sometimes there are consequences.
I don't have one polarizing message. It is just about being consistent over the years.
In terms of PPV, you've got to have the right dancing partner.
The game plan might be different based on the opponent, but the approach is the same.
I was surprised at how slow Froch was. We were able to beat him to the punch.
Being a champion is not just being a frontrunner and being ahead, but it's facing adversity.
I'm just trying to get those marquee victories and continue to get those accomplishments so when the time comes and the vote is cast, hopefully my spot is secured in the Boxing Hall of Fame.
People who know me know that I'm not going to open my mouth and say something if I don't mean it. I'm very short and sweet. I'm old-school when it comes to it: I say what I mean and mean what I say, and then get off of it. It's simple as that.
I got an old school coach who's more of a teacher than a coach.
There's always great things that champions do. It can be inside fighting, this person uses his range well, this person has a great right hand - anytime you fight a champion, there's multiple things that they do well, and you have to try to take those strengths away.
I wouldn't call myself a brawler.
That's why I train the way I train. I don't like to lose.
My thing is that if you love the sport, appreciate the sport as a whole. If you love the sport, you love the slick boxer; you love the guy who can box and punch. You love the brawler.
Once a fighter becomes enamoured with another, to the point where they can't perform and compete, you have got problems.
He was competitive in every fight and brought his best every time out, so I have nothing personal against Froch. I actually like him a lot because he reminds me a lot of myself with his competitiveness.
I have never won big fights just doing one thing, being one-dimensional.
You have to change on the fly. You have to adapt. It's what I do. It's what wins for me.
It's a beautiful thing when you come to fight week and you know that you haven't cut any corners.
Sometimes the biggest statements you can make are by living something out.
From my position, obviously I want to maximise my potential and go as far as I can go and as high as I can go, but I'm not chasing fame. I get enough of that.
Boxing is not that complicated. If two guys want to fight, it's not hard to make a fight. If the fight's not made, it's because one party doesn't want that fight, or maybe both parties don't want it.
You're going to face adversity. It's not if - it's when.
I didn't need to get knocked down to know the fortitude that I have in me.
My legacy is almost like a personal challenge to go as far as I can go.
I don't think anyone in that Roc Nation office gets eight hours of sleep; I highly doubt it. They're constantly working, and they're on top of everything, and they have a department for everything.
Sometimes you're going to win close fights, and that's the way it is.
Anytime you fight a champion, you got to watch the tape closely and study him closely.
Did I have rough days? Days I didn't want to train? Days I thought my career would never get back off the ground and possibly be over? Absolutely.
I'm just being me. If I'm not enough, I don't know what to tell you. I'm not going to apologize about it.
People don't realize I tore my rotator cuff when I was 12 or 13. At that time, being so young, we decided just to not have surgery.
There are times and places for tune-ups and stay-busy fights.
You have to be able to adjust on the fly, and that is what the great ones do.
At the end of the day, the great ones - well, they rise, and that's what I want to do.
You don't stay undefeated without being a little stubborn.
I want to be able to look back and say that I stood where I was supposed to stand. I fought where I was supposed to fight, in the ring and out of the ring.
I'm a five-time world champion in two different weight classes. Man, it's amazing.
Manny Pacquiao has a whole country behind him. His journey and his rise, from a career standpoint, he was fortunate to have a lot of great opponents and rivalries for years. People forget about Barrera and Morales and those guys. That's how he built his legacy. Plus he had a country behind him.
You don't get points for leaving the chin open.
If something happens and you're behind, and you get hit in the mouth early like that, you have two options: You can either pack it in mentally and internally and go into survival mode and quit, or you're going to get up and go to work.
I know I'm a good fighter, probably a great fighter. I've fought the best in the world since I was a kid, and I've been fortunate to come out on top.
My legacy is so, so important to me.
One of the reasons why I signed up with Roc Nation was because of their ability to not just have a vision of doing things but the actual ability and resources to carry that vision out.
There's a lot of ways to win a belt, but taking it from a champion is very important to me.
I get the headlines for being slick and different things like that - which is part of my game - but it's just amazing to me that a lot of times, the people don't see the other things that go on in that ring. But a lot of times, when my opponents figure it out, the fight is over. It's too late.
