You can't fight if you're nervous.
— David Haye
If I didn't have a great right hook, the bigger, heavier fighters would grind me down and smother me.
The boxing public aren't interested in knowing me. They want to know The Hayemaker, the one who gives it big.
I was actually very fortunate. I think I was actually the only kid in my class at one stage that actually had a father in the home.
That's what I actually like about boxing: no matter how well you do, you can still have a normal life.
It's boxing. It's about getting people interested. If I didn't say some stupid things from time to time, there wouldn't be that many people interested in me. But I let my fists do the talking when the bell rings.
I want to knock out both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and I don't care what order they fall in.
If I hit the Klitschkos with the same shots I was hitting John Ruiz, both of them would go over.
It's sad to see boxers sometimes when they've come from these massive highs with thousands of people screaming for them. They're the best at what they do - then, that's it: stopped, finished.
Look what the Rumble in the Jungle did for Zaire. No one had ever heard of Zaire until then. After Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman for the title, no one forgets it.
It's often my opponent's plan to take me into the later rounds, but the amount of damage that has accumulated on them means they don't hear the final bell.
When I'm training, I use heavier crepe for wraps, for protection - but you're not allowed to use them in competition. So when it comes to the fight, the wraps are softer.
You can't hit someone if they're holding on to you.
Although boxing is a sport, it's still entertainment. You've still got the fear, press conferences, the stare-downs. It's all an act in some ways. My whole life I've been doing it. I love this side of boxing - as much as the actual fight.
I seem to get the best out of myself when the pressure's on. My senses are heightened. I feel sharper. I do better things.
There is no room for sentiment in a boxing ring.
Nobody will hold it against him if he cancels the fight with Dereck Chisora - the public aren't interested in that fight; nobody knows who he is. It is pretty sad but shows the mindset of Wladimir Klitschko and why he will go down in history as a heavyweight who just fought the worst possible people out there.
I always fight better when my opponent's angry.
Every boxer needs to be able to punch, but none more than me, and that's because I'm not that skilful, and I'm one of the smallest heavyweights you'll ever see.
I've got a really canny knack for avoiding big punches or clean punches.
The Hayemaker is a dangerous fellow who, when the bell rings, is on a seek and destroy mission, by any means necessary. No playing around. No comedy. It's just straight-up business.
I always told everyone I'd be heavyweight champion of the world one day. They'd say, 'All right, whatever.' I said, 'OK, you'll see.'
The Klitschkos don't care about being great fighters, whereas I do. They may be big in Switzerland, but so are yodellers, and nobody wants to watch them fight.
Bernard Hopkins is one of my idols.
My performance against Ruiz was a good one - there were plenty of knockdowns, excitement, and drama.
You need to stay hungry and not allow someone like John Ruiz to come over and mess you up in front of all your fans.
Just before a fight, as the ring empties, you can feel it. There is danger and loneliness all around you. Soon it's just the three of you in there: the referee, your opponent, and you. You're in a very lonely moment then. But, strangely, that's when I feel most comfortable. The ring becomes my office, and I go to work.
It's always my plan to knock out my opponents.
It's the warm-up in the changing room when I switch on. I don't even think about the fight until then. Some fighters are bouncing about the walls, but I switch off. Then it's like someone flicks a switch in me.
The bigger the pressure, the sharper I am, the more in tune with my body I am, the better my tactics seem to be. A lot of people crumble under pressure; they do something crazy.
I'm going to be a movie star, break Hollywood.
When someone unloads on me, I keep my head moving; I don't freeze. I punch back with them. The occasion never gets to me. Not one bit. I enjoy it.
I eat tall, chinny, Eastern European heavyweights for breakfast.
Fight fans just want to see the best against the best - if only it was that simple.
Anything's possible if you set your heart on something, no matter how big and how crazy it seems.
To me, being heavyweight world champion and Olympic sprint champion are the two greatest prizes in sport.
It was always about being first, about winning. There were no prizes for second place. My mother and father said, 'Do whatever you want, as long as you're the best at it.'
I've had injuries before. They are just obstacles to overcome.
Whenever the Klitschkos pick opponents who punch back, things go pear-shaped for them.
There are probably one million dudes in America called Kevin Johnson, and beating one of them doesn't make you an all-time great heavyweight.
I want to fight who the fans who want me to fight.
Slowly but surely, as time goes on, people forget about you. People stop talking about you. You stop seeing your name in the papers. I like to believe that I don't think that will bother me. As long as I know I've achieved my goals and people believe I'm the best at what I do, then I'll be happy.
What I want to achieve in boxing is worldwide. I want to show I'm not just a British commodity... To do that, you have to fight the best and fight all over the world.
Winning the title then losing it to John Ruiz... I'd be devastated.
It would be nice to crack America, but I need the opponent to do that. If Eddie Chambers is the best American heavyweight they can dig up, it's a very sad state of affairs.
In the lead-up to fights, I'm very relaxed, very calm.
I'm a showman.
Everybody wants me to finally close the curtain on the joke that is the Audley Harrison show.
Whatever any boxer does in the ring, I don't think any reporter should call him a coward. Anyone who does that I lose complete respect for. There's a difference between being a coward and being scared, or apprehensive. Different fighters have got different mentalities.
I have the heart of lion.
