Gerry Cooney Quotes

If you look at my career, towards the end you will see I was fighting like once a year. I was not part of the Don King top heavyweights, so I was kind of kept out. His guys were getting three to four fights a year and I could only get one.

The bad press came because they thought I should fight more. I couldn't get the fights because if I would sign to fight one of King's guys I would be signed to him. I chose not to do that. In hindsight, that might have been a mistake.

The mission I set out on in the beginning - to become heavyweight champion of the world, undisputed, lineal champion - you could say that mission is complete.

The heavyweight boxing needs Shannon Briggs and boxing needs Shannon Briggs.

I have been dreaming about the heavyweight title it seems since I was born.

I grew up watching the careers of Tyson and Bowe. I always wanted to follow in their footsteps in becoming a world champion. But I've always been my own man.

He's fighting for the world title, so we're prepared for the best John Thompson.

My personal feeling is that Bernard Hopkins has never been an industry boy.

I would love to have gone there, fight at Madison Square Garden or a casino in Las Vegas, but there are no American heavyweights now who can pose a challenge to me.

A fight with Tony Bellew would be a momentous occasion. He is a good boxer and a good person, and I also have the option to move into the heavyweight division.

An offer to fight Muhammad Ali came after Stevenson won his second Olympic gold in Montreal in 1976. Stevenson was at his peak. The world had never seen a heavyweight with the tools Stevenson brought into the ring.

I'm always telling Don King's people when there's a top-10 heavyweight they've got that needs an opponent, I'm ready.

If I'm watching my favorite boxer, and he's just won the heavyweight championship of the world, and he retires, it kind of makes the guy a legend.

My father was champion of North Africa and he beat the European champ. He was very good, a professional for 12 years. We're from a big family of boxers. My father has seven brothers.

And I remember leaving my place in L.A. and - my father is a big fight fan - and I said, 'Dad, I got a couple of days off and I'm getting ready to go to Houston to sign to fight Muhammad Ali.

You couldn't find a more stylized boxer than Sugar Ray Leonard.

I used to tease Joe Louis by reminding him that I was the greatest of all time. But Joe Louis was the greatest heavyweight fighter ever.

I made the decision to turn pro, and I remember what Ali said to me: 'Get Angelo Dundee. He's the right complexion with the right connection.' He knew boxing. Our relationship was so genuine, so sincere.

When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.

I don't need David Haye and his antics to earn money.

There are 7 billion people in the world, but there's only one heavyweight champion of the world, and that's me.

Whether someone like Klitschko wins, loses, draws, or gets knocked out in five seconds, he is still a big name.

Looking back, I couldn't get enough fights because Don King owned most of the top 10 fighters, and he never gave me a fight.

Yes, I think about having a career in boxing, but I want to start from the bottom, start from zero. I want to get ranked and one day fight for a belt. I don't want to fight just to fight, for money, to go after big fights and challenge a great champion.

On my way to winning the title, it was great for me, but once I won the title, it was tough for me to get fights.