Thomas Hauser Quotes

I love boxing, but there's a business side. I don't like a lot of people in the sport.

I just feel that all the top fighters in the world are making all the money.

Considering fighters are usually going to want to fight the best, they need to be protected from themselves. That's where management should come in.

We put our life on the line to fight for them, put on a show and these guys take our money so whatever happens to Bob Arum, Don King or anyone else is fine with me.

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.

Fighters with 13 fights are winning world titles, and of course they don't know how to behave.

I heard there was a debate about fighting teammates, and if a fight should happen because the fans or promoter wants it, I will fight a teammate, but family is ridiculous.

I'm just asking for a fair shake. You see a lot of these guys, a lot of these other champions making what they're making. I'm not trying to take anything away from them, but I feel like I'm one of the more exciting fighters under contract in the UFC.

Look at guys like Demetrious Johnson, who's the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Why isn't he on the largest pay scale? Why are there people that aren't even champions making more money?

With the UFC it's like, you make okay money, and only if you're the champion do you make good money. So they're keeping the fighters deliberately poor so they'll keep fighting.

I got messed up between my fight with Ken Norton and my fight with Larry Holmes; I got messed up with alcohol. I needed at least a year more experience, with three or four more fights before I fought Holmes. But I couldn't get any fights. Don King had all the contenders, and unless I signed myself over to him, I couldn't get a fight.

There is an age limit of 35 on amateur boxing. They should consider putting an age limit on professional boxing.

Fighting is my livelihood, and jeopardizing my body without a full understanding of conditions doesn't make any sense. No professional fighter will go into a risky match without a contract.

There are rules that say 'If a fighter gets old, when a fighter slows down, when a fighter stops looking the same, then he can never come back.' I don't like that.

Technically, my fight with Korobov should have been for the full world title, not the interim.

Boxing has been good to me and I believe I have been good for boxing.

When you're watching people in non-title fights making four times the amount of money that a champion makes, it takes away the flavor of being a champion.

I know why the UFC runs the business the way they do. I know why Conor McGregor makes a base pay of $3 million. But I think I justify my pay with my skill set, and I've always been willing to promote my brand.

I have been very busy having so many fights since I turned pro. To have 13 in little more than two years is a lot by modern standards.

I just feel proud when they say in 'Forbes' magazine that the highest-paid athlete is a fighter.

It's sad when a MMA fighter talks to an NFL or NBA player about how much money they make. That's embarrassing. You tell them how much you make and they laugh.

I think the healthier Bellator can be, the better it is for the entire sport, especially the athletes who - let's face it - need to be paid more. They need the opportunity to negotiate and have an option. Bellator definitely presents that.

So many people who deal with sexual harassment don't have the means to file lawsuits or to get legal representation or legal advice.

My career has been very difficult. People respect the fact that I haven't just turned professional like Amir Khan or Audley Harrison, and it's been, 'Here's a million pound' - for spoilt brats to fight a couple of fights.

The fans pay our wages and I want to give back to the fans. I have been telling them for ages that I want big fights and they haven't believed me. They don't know the politics that go on behind the scenes through no fault of my own.