Gerry Cooney

I retired when I was 30, with all my marbles and a few bucks. But a lot of guys leave boxing penniless with no skills. Men in their 30s and early 40s, old for boxing, young in life, but also old in the job market if you're just getting started with no education. These guys need someone in their corner. ”

I lost three times in my career. Losing to Holmes I could deal with, because I lost to a true champion. ”

I grew up in a household where I learned five things from my old man. You know what they were? You're no good. You're a failure. You're not going to amount to anything. Don't trust nobody, and don't tell nobody your business. When I lost to Larry Holmes in 1982, I felt all five of those things smacked me right across the face. ”

Too many guys don't know what to do with their lives after boxing. I was lucky because I had two managers who didn't trust each other, and so they were always making sure where all the money was, and because of that, so did I. ”

Roberto Duran was the kind of guy who was a true fighter and you hardly see guys like that anymore. ”

When I see a fighter gets into the ring, I not only see the fighter, but I see his wife and children. I care about what happens to them. I care about what happens to that fighter after he gets out of the ring. ”

You go through pain. You feel uncomfortable, uncomfortable, uncomfortable until you change. I acquired a different outlook. ”

I'm easygoing. There's a place and time for everything. When that bell rings, I'm not nice and easy. I'm not meek and passive. ”

The road hasn't always been paved for me. People identify with that. Everybody passes through hard times, and I think that's part of my appeal - that I have, too. ”

I saw my brother have an altercation one time. He hit a guy with a left hook to the body and a right hand to the chin. He not only knocked the guy out, but out of wind. That stuck with me. It scared me. ”