Cooper: “Well madam, have you looked in the mirror and seen the state of your nose? Boxing is my excuse. What’s yours?”
Eddie Shaw, referring to Herol “Bomber” Graham : “He has turned defensive boxing into a poetic art. Trouble is, nobody ever knocked anybody out with a poem.”
Mark Kaylor: “I’ve only ever seen Errol Christie fight once before and that was the best I’ve ever seen him fight.”
Lou Duva, Veteran boxing trainer, on the spartan training regimen of heavyweight Andrew Golota: “He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning regardless of what time it is.”
Randall “Tex” Cobb: “When I got up I stuck to my plan — stumbling forward and getting hit in the face.”
Blackie Sherrod, talking about a heavyweight contender: “He has everything a boxer needs except speed, stamina, a punch, and ability to take punishment. In other words, he owns a pair of shorts.”
Max Barr, on Joe Louis: “He hit me 18 times while I was in the act of falling.”
Harry Kabakoff, on Chango Cruz: “The bum was up and down so many times I thought he was an Otis elevator.”
Mike Tyson, to the Nevada State Athletic Commission: “I’m not Mother Teresa. But I’m also not Charles Manson.”
Nick Wilshire: “I can only see it going one way, that’s my way. How it’s actually going to go I can’t really say.”
Muhammad Ali: “Howard Cosell was gonna be a boxer when he was a kid—only they couldn’t find a mouthpiece big enough.”
Tommy Farr: “Every time I hear the name Joe Louis my nose starts to bleed.”
Muhammad Ali, when asked about his golf game: “I’m the best. I just haven’t played yet.”
Dan Duva, on Mike Tyson hooking up again with promoter Don King: ” Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton.”
Tex Cobb, responding to a reporter who said Cobb was a fat, cocaine snorting , drunk. Cobb replied: “I’m not fat.
Max Baer, when asked for his definition of fear: “Standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early.”
George Foreman: “The referee is the most important man in the ring besides the two fighters.”
Ricardo Mayorga: I will knock out Vernon Forrest in two rounds whether I have a cigarette or not. I know a lot of people want to see me fight more rounds. So, if HBO wants, they can pick two sparring partners for me to fight after I knock out Forrest. That way, the audience can see me fight 12 rounds.”
I guess that proves that getting hit in the head doesn’t do much for your ability to speak rationally. Some of those were really funny. I think my favorite quote was from Henry Cooper.
Hilarious!
B
This is funny, especially the the first Tyson quote. Go figure!