I believe in myself. I want to be a fighter. I want to be heavyweight champion of the world.

I had money, but I still didn't know what to do with my life.

For every athlete, the roar of the crowd goes away, and we have to learn how to turn the page.

I see Mike Tyson as too strong for Spinks.

In '82, I was a little too young, I was a little inexperienced, and I was more concerned with going the distance in the fight than going out and taking Holmes out.

My career got sidetracked after fighting Holmes.

I really don't care who I fight.

I believe in my abilities as a fighter.

When I fought Holmes, I feel I was a better fighter than he was. I was just so caught up in what was written about the fight - I got caught up in that whole thing.

Drug abuse is a very difficult disease.

I want to win. For myself first. And for all those people who stuck with me and understood.

The past is yesterday. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Everybody handles pressure differently.

Looking back, I couldn't get enough fights because Don King owned most of the top 10 fighters, and he never gave me a fight.

People who think I lack desire are wrong.

I want to get me one of those titles.

Sometimes it takes certain people longer to get over things than others.

I don't care what you say about me anymore! I don't care what you write about me anymore. I don't care! This is my life. I can't have anybody messing with my life. I just want to be Gerry Cooney, doing what I want to do. I want to be what I am. A fighter.

When we first started in Huntington Recreation with John Capobianco, we put four kids in the Golden Gloves finals. We didn't even have a ring. We trained at Stimson Junior High School. They give us the gym three nights a week. We used to box in the gym - no ring, just on the gym floor.

Joe DeGuardia, I love that guy. He's not a superstar promoter yet, but he will be. He was a fighter himself; he's staying the course with these guys. He's developing some good fighters out there. I really applaud him whenever I get a chance to.

Winning the Gloves made me believe I was somebody.

The Klitschko boys, they're great fighters, but they're just boring here in America.

It's like you always think that when you get to a goal, you'll be happy. But then there is always something else that interests you.

What hurt most were the people who came up to me and said they lost $1,000 on me. It just makes you mad.