If I was a bad guy, I probably would be incarcerated.

I would love to play with the Flyers. I got the two front teeth missing, so I can look the part. I'm ready cosmetically. I could fit right in.

I looked up to Marvin Hagler, Ali.

Yes, we have to look at our opponents and study our opponents. But you have to look at you first and know you can do it.

I say the sweet science is to hit and not get hit.

I say the sweet science is to understand not only how to fight coming forward, how to be a big puncher, but also understand, if you run into a guy who can take your punch for the first time, how to react.

Boxing is the sweet science. You hit and not get hit. There's no reward for you to hit me more than I hit you other than on the scorecards.

Age is not a problem. It becomes a problem when people try and make us think old.

No one's kicking down the door to fight Bernard Hopkins.

I've had a hard life. I smell and sense fear. I didn't get that from Catholic school; I know what fear is.

Boxing is a small world where the same thing that goes on, goes on in corporate America.

If I can create an atmosphere to make my job easier and your confidence less, why not?

Ninety-nine percent of getting over a problem is mental.

I don't react and think off emotions - that gets you in a bad situation.

Any UFC fighter, and any fighter going into the boxing ring and can do what they do in the UFC, nine out of 10 won't be victorious and vice-versa, with a boxer coming from - even myself - coming over to that field will be a fish trying to be in a jungle and survive. It's not going to happen.

I've shown, for twenty-plus years, with a legacy that will be talked about way after I'm gone, that I am different.

My whole career, I got a lot of credit for not taking punches.

Most of my fights are intelligent.

Protect yourself at all times. It's what I talk to school kids and college kids about when I do my seminars. I'm not just talking about in the ring. Protect yourself at all times.

You do a deal - business deal, real estate deal, stock deal - protect yourself at all times. I got that from boxing. That's from A to Z: that covers everything in life. And it started when I heard it in the ring. They don't say that in basketball or football or any other sport that I know of but boxing.

I love fighting big guys because I'm fast. I'm not a big, light heavyweight. I can move. I can get inside on them. I'm inside, I'm wrestling with them, and they're just wrestling, but all the time, I'm chopping; I'm slapping.

They had to debate whether Joe Frazier should be in the Boxing Hall of Fame or not. I'm making sure that it would be a felony to sit down and debate whether or not Bernard Hopkins deserves to be in the hall of fame.

I'm the guy still driving a Nissan.

That materialistic life, that's not my god.

Age is not an enemy to me.

I am a proud man and never takes things for granted in my life.

I want to be the spokesman for the 40-and-older crowd, inspiring people to believe that no matter their age, they can be healthy and save their lives.

I am not going to eat something that I have been told is not good for my system, and I do what I can to eat energy food, such as lean meats, whole grains, and lots of fruit and vegetables. Without this daily habit, my body would have given up a long time ago. There is no magic pill, no magic drink, no magic food.

I do much less sparring and always with the purpose of working on something in particular.

There is nothing more important than staying alert, reading your opponent, that counts for both inside and outside the ring.

I think being 50 and being me is different than any other fighter in any era.

I'm special, in a way that is good. I don't have to explain 'special.' There is no definition for special. Special speaks for itself.

I am a great champion.

Money is great, but history is something that you can never get rid of and act like it didn't happen.

One thing I want people to know before I leave this game is I gave it my all.

I have to constantly work on my reflexes and hand-eye coordination. I do a lot of puzzles. I play chess.

I have to be smarter than my opponents. I have to figure out their styles in the ring. I have to be three or four steps ahead of them. So my mind has to be sharp.

A body that doesn't move mentally or physically dies.

I avoid processed food.

If you notice, in every fight, I always have something to get into their head.

I'm a health-awareness guy, and all of that includes how I eat, how much I rest, and how I keep my skin good. Any kind of maintenance that I would do on a car, I do on myself.

I'm a guy that likes to work in the spa and get on the elliptical.

I like to do things that are noncombat- or boxing-related. So I jump rope a lot, and then I run a lot.

Boxing should not let - we should not let - the people in business of boxing should not let a person to just walk right in and get the grand prize of boxing. You can't do it in basketball, football, hockey.

If you really look at it, I have done the 'American Dream' that people have died on boats to come here to live.

Oscar De La Hoya is unique. Even Ray Leonard didn't have the star power Oscar has.

I don't think I can get Jack Nicholson to come out and watch me fight.

You look at De La Hoya, and you think that he is an actor or a singer. I'd like to rearrange a couple of things on his face so the pretty boy becomes just another boxer.

Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins is an event where actors and actresses will come out, and I give all credit to Oscar for that.

Just because you started off one way don't mean the ending of the book has to be the way you started.