Roy Jones Jr. Quotes
Boxer
I always had a fetish for fighting big peoples. My dad put me in the ring with much bigger guys. In my first fight, I gave the guy a 14-pound advantage.
I don't know what tomorrow holds. None of us do. We got to wait and see what God has planned.
I don't really give in to the critics because critics are always going to criticize, and what have they done? A person who has never done nothing can't really care nothing about doing something. So as far as the critics, I don't care what they think. I don't have time to give to critics.
They've made it a felon to drive from Florida to Louisiana with any fighting birds, so I've had to get rid of most of my chickens. I only got about a hundred left now, which I just keep for colour and breeding. I love those birds as much as anything.
If God truly wanted me to stop, all He'd have to do is have one doctor at the Mayo Clinic find something wrong with my brain. Just one little CAT scan showing any sign of trauma or damage, and I'd be done.
One thing I learned from the '88 Olympics: It's not a question of if they can screw you over: it's a question of if they will. It's not the gold medal they took away from me. The medal doesn't mean anything. It's that they said I lost. That experience is well and alive in my mind.
The more irrational you make your opponent, the more control you have over him in the ring.
Fishing keeps you alive, gives you time away - to enjoy God, the creations that He made. Because God made you.
When me and Mike Tyson were around, we played king of the hill. Whoever comes to the hill, you get your behind whooped. We don't pick and choose. I fought guys when I had fractured wrists and ribs, bad backs, I didn't care. I was the king of the hill; Tyson was king of the hill. When we left, people were trying to get the 'most money fight.'
Once you put that muscle on, it's hard to go back down. Most guys, when they put that muscle on, they just stay big. To go back down while at the same time trying to maintain that punching power, it's very tough.
I had more energy at 25 and did more jiving around. People got to understand that when you're not so interested in something, you're not gonna do it to the best of your ability. I used to get excited working the crowd, but no more.
I got real bored in '96. Wasn't nobody to fight. Nothing to look forward to. That's when I started playing basketball again. Had I not started playing basketball, my boxing career would have failed. But I went from a sport where nobody could touch me to another where I couldn't touch nobody.
Mayweather was TBE - The Best Ever - at making money, but look at his highlights and look at mine. You can't pretend it's the same.
If I fought like I was looking for a place in history, it would ruin me as a person. I don't think history is worth selling my soul.
I don't care about no boxing legacy. I don't care where they put me on the list of all-time greats - let them put me at the bottom.
With me, I come in the ring and start thinking right away. My thought process is just to put a guy down. I'm like a technician and learn to break it all down - from head to toe.
I started talking about retiring in 1997. This is a brutal game, and 25 years of it ain't good for your health. After I get past Tarver on Saturday, give me Klitschko or Tyson. Otherwise, I'm outta here.
I was so scared of my father. He'd pull up in his truck and start looking for something I'd done wrong. There was no escape, no excuse, no way out of nothing.
Every day, it was the same: school, homework, farm work, training. Getting hurt or dying might've been better than the life I was living.
My dad sacrificed his relationship with me so I'd be stronger for it. But I could never do it to my kids - I like to have a happy relationship with them.
I never stop. I'll never truly retire, because my mind is always on go.
After my arrival in Russia, I saw that there is a large community of boxers. I also felt appreciated in Russia. Maybe even a lot more than I was valued and appreciated in my own country.
If I spent my career responding to critics, I'd never be where I'm at right now.
Kids always used to come up and ask me if I ever fought Mike Tyson, and I used to tell them that we couldn't because we were in different weight classes.
In my prime, I was the ruler. Simple as that. I understand there's a lot of great fighters who've followed me already since I was the champ - and I hope there's another who comes along does even better because want to see that - but I haven't seen anyone do what I did yet.
This fan thing doesn't really have any effect on my career goals. You know, I'll still be training fighters and haven't made any career plans yet. Just like I hadn't made any career plans before I fought Maccarinelli. I'll see how it goes, see how I feel. I always listen to my body.
I'm pretty good at video games, but I'm the champ when it comes to pinball, and that's just because it's old-fashion like I am. I can't get enough of pinball.
You can't pretend there has ever been anyone come close to doing what I did. Nobody you could name could touch me, and I'm talking about nobody who's around now, nobody who was around in my prime, and nobody who was around any time you can mention outta your mouth.
I've tried to stick with the same people from when my career started to today. The more people you add around you, the more distractions you have, and that's the last thing I need.
You know how many people would give up their life to get in one NBA game or NFL game or get one fight? Just to do something that has been a dream and they've aspired to do for their whole life - can you imagine what that means for a person?
Nobody in history has won all the titles I've won and the cruiserweight title. I'd be the only man in history. That's when you die and go to Heaven, and God can look at you and know you did everything with the gifts he gave you.
Boxing has been my life, and it is my life. I've enjoyed every moment of it.
British fans are the best, and we are seeing that. They love the sport of boxing. They follow, they travel, they love their fighters. They will go anywhere in the world to support you. They support better than any other country I've seen to this day.
I'm really glad to have become a Russian citizen. Russia's such a welcoming country, and many people in the world want to become her citizens.
I never wanted my kids to feel about me the way I felt about him.
Andre Ward got the chance to fight Sergey Kovalev twice. Triple G and Canelo are fighting again. People are getting paid to play king of the hill again.
Some of those guys show a lot of promise, especially Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Even the kid Joseph Parker, who Joshua is about to fight, shows a lot of promise. I'm looking forward to some really exciting fights in the heavyweight division to come.