Boxing History Quotes

I'm personally not a Muhammad Ali fan.

'Ali' offers stunning re-creations of bouts Ali fought. In the second Liston fight, the auditorium is underlighted and clouded with fetid cigar smoke, which was why the famous picture of a snarling Ali standing over Liston was so dramatic; indoor arenas are now bright enough to be spotted from Alpha Centauri.

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion, so I took part of his name. I admired Rocky Marciano, so I took part of his name.

I have always wanted to be European champion, because it is a fantastic title and so many great boxers have held the belt over the years.

I think it's fair to say I've always been a boxing fan.

Joe Louis is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. Rocky Marciano is second only to Louis. Where do I rate Ali? Somewhere below me. I beat him, and if I could beat him, no doubt Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano could have beaten him.

I'm telling you, Amir Khan gives Floyd Mayweather problems.

The one-time cotton picker was now the heavyweight champion of the world.

I been making history for Omaha, Nebraska, since I started boxing professional, and it just keeps going and going and going.

In the beginning, somebody told me there was a record in the cruiserweight division where Evander Holyfield became the champion. I thought about that, and I told my team, 'Let's make our own history, our own record, to beat Holyfield's record.'

I pretty much grew up in the Clubber Lang/Ivan Drago era. That was more my time. I've always been a fan of the films, even the fifth, that I know some people didn't care for, I've always enjoyed them.

Boxing is a family tradition. The last five generations down to my dad have been fighters.

Boxing was not as big as wrestling in Japan, but people knew Leon Spinks.

Every year, you hope that boxing can provide some of the best fights possible. I think 2018 was one of the better years for boxing. A lot of good matchups were made, and a lot of tickets were sold.

I never said I was a Tyson, Bowe or Ali. I said I'm Shannon Briggs, the latest, not the 'greatest.'

Some of our best fighters are not only Puerto Rican greats but all-time greats of the sport. Carlos Ortiz, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez and Felix 'Tito' Trinidad and many others have made Puerto Rican boxing what it is today, and I am only an extension of their greatness.

At first I didn’t give a damn to go down in history. I wanted to win. But the more I won, the more I thought about leaving something behind. Yes, it's as important as hell to me. I want to leave something that people will remember me by. Of course, a lot of boxers want to do that. But it's not easy. Take Larry Holmes, he was the big man after Muhammad Ali, he wanted to emulate him, but for some reason the public didn’t take him like they did to Ali. I think people won’t fully understand what I contributed to the sport for years.

Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest, pound-for-pound, ever. He fought most of his career with just one loss, and that was to me. He had 131 fights with one loss.

People are always going to say, 'Who's he beat? He's only beat Cowboy.' So what you're trying to tell me is Cowboy is a nobody? Cowboy will be remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all time. And I beat him in one round.

I got my inspiration when I sat down with my father, at about eight or nine years old, and watched 'The Rumble in the Jungle.'

The Youngest World Heavyweight Champion in History!

I want to be remembered as a guy who transcended boxing.

Who do you know, who could come out on a flying carpet? P. Diddy standing at the bottom, come out like a concert, dancing, oozing confidence, and then get in and take somebody out? Come on, do you know anybody in the history of the sport that did what Prince Naseem did? I ain't trying to brag, but I was bloody good at it.

Joe Louis was a good Heavyweight, good boxer but he was kind of in the same boat as Marciano, weighing about 190 to 200 lbs.