Top 150 Quotes & Sayings by David Haye - Page 2

In the lead-up to fights, I'm very relaxed, very calm.

It would be nice to crack America, but I need the opponent to do that. If Eddie Chambers is the best American heavyweight they can dig up, it's a very sad state of affairs.

I want to knock out both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and I don't care what order they fall in.

If I hit the Klitschkos with the same shots I was hitting John Ruiz, both of them would go over.

I'm going to be a movie star, break Hollywood.

It's boxing. It's about getting people interested. If I didn't say some stupid things from time to time, there wouldn't be that many people interested in me. But I let my fists do the talking when the bell rings.

You can't fight if you're nervous.

It was always about being first, about winning. There were no prizes for second place. My mother and father said, 'Do whatever you want, as long as you're the best at it.'

Winning the title then losing it to John Ruiz... I'd be devastated.

Just before a fight, as the ring empties, you can feel it. There is danger and loneliness all around you. Soon it's just the three of you in there: the referee, your opponent, and you. You're in a very lonely moment then. But, strangely, that's when I feel most comfortable. The ring becomes my office, and I go to work.

I seem to get the best out of myself when the pressure's on. My senses are heightened. I feel sharper. I do better things.

It's always my plan to knock out my opponents.

Everybody wants me to finally close the curtain on the joke that is the Audley Harrison show.

It's often my opponent's plan to take me into the later rounds, but the amount of damage that has accumulated on them means they don't hear the final bell.

If I didn't have a great right hook, the bigger, heavier fighters would grind me down and smother me.

When I'm training, I use heavier crepe for wraps, for protection - but you're not allowed to use them in competition. So when it comes to the fight, the wraps are softer.

I always fight better when my opponent's angry.

There are probably one million dudes in America called Kevin Johnson, and beating one of them doesn't make you an all-time great heavyweight.

Although boxing is a sport, it's still entertainment. You've still got the fear, press conferences, the stare-downs. It's all an act in some ways. My whole life I've been doing it. I love this side of boxing - as much as the actual fight.

It's sad to see boxers sometimes when they've come from these massive highs with thousands of people screaming for them. They're the best at what they do - then, that's it: stopped, finished.

The bigger the pressure, the sharper I am, the more in tune with my body I am, the better my tactics seem to be. A lot of people crumble under pressure; they do something crazy.

You can't hit someone if they're holding on to you.

I always told everyone I'd be heavyweight champion of the world one day. They'd say, 'All right, whatever.' I said, 'OK, you'll see.'

You need to stay hungry and not allow someone like John Ruiz to come over and mess you up in front of all your fans.

Anything's possible if you set your heart on something, no matter how big and how crazy it seems.

My performance against Ruiz was a good one - there were plenty of knockdowns, excitement, and drama.

To me, being heavyweight world champion and Olympic sprint champion are the two greatest prizes in sport.

Bernard Hopkins is one of my idols.

I was actually very fortunate. I think I was actually the only kid in my class at one stage that actually had a father in the home.

The boxing public aren't interested in knowing me. They want to know The Hayemaker, the one who gives it big.

The Klitschkos don't care about being great fighters, whereas I do. They may be big in Switzerland, but so are yodellers, and nobody wants to watch them fight.

I've had injuries before. They are just obstacles to overcome.

What I want to achieve in boxing is worldwide. I want to show I'm not just a British commodity... To do that, you have to fight the best and fight all over the world.

I'm a showman.

I want to fight who the fans who want me to fight.

That's what I actually like about boxing: no matter how well you do, you can still have a normal life.

Slowly but surely, as time goes on, people forget about you. People stop talking about you. You stop seeing your name in the papers. I like to believe that I don't think that will bother me. As long as I know I've achieved my goals and people believe I'm the best at what I do, then I'll be happy.

Every boxer needs to be able to punch, but none more than me, and that's because I'm not that skilful, and I'm one of the smallest heavyweights you'll ever see.

I've got a really canny knack for avoiding big punches or clean punches.

Whenever the Klitschkos pick opponents who punch back, things go pear-shaped for them.

To move up to heavyweight to fight me is a jump too far, in my opinion.

You forget why you're fighting - you can lose sight of why you're doing it all.

If I had a hotdog in my hand, he would've had tomato ketchup on his face.

Fortunately, for me, my main asset is speed. Plain and simple.

If you look after yourself, keep yourself healthy and have good sparring, there shouldn't be any issues regarding ring rust.

I'm too fast, too sexy and too talented to be blown away by a large, slow robot from the Ukraine.

The only thing on my mind is getting into that ring and destroying a boxing myth, someone who has reached a level of infamy through doing a number of stupid things.

I abstain from any kind of release for six weeks before a fight, no self-pleasure, nothing. Even in my dreams, I'll be about to have sex with a beautiful girl and I'll say, 'Sorry darling, I'm fighting in a few weeks.' That's control, bro, when you're turning down a hot chick in your subconscious.

I had to beat him up in front of everybody for threatening me.

He could've had Jesus, Buddha, he could have had every God in his corner, it wouldn't have helped him against me.

It's going to be fun watching this robot start malfunctioning.

[Some young athletes] get home, look at social media, and they have thousands of people ripping it out of them, telling them that they're terrible at their profession, they hope they lose their next match or fight.It's hugely negative and unless you can rise above it and pay no attention, it can have a very serious impact on that person's state of mind.

Put all your eggs in one basket. Then you're less likely to drop that basket.

I realised nothing was permanently broken, I needed to take control and make changes.

He's got one of the best chins I've ever hit in my life. I was catching him and he was smiling at me, he was eating them. He's a great fighter, he'll be champion one day.

I'm not a big fan of being a victim. I don't like getting beaten up.

I believe I'm a born winner. I always think about winning.

People are at the mercy of internet trolls who bring people who are excellent in their fields down to their level. They're diminishing someone's flame to make theirs brighter.

I watched a TV documentary about how animals are farmed, killed and prepared for us to eat. I saw all those cows and pigs and realized I couldn't be a part of it any more. It was horrible. I did some research to make sure I could still obtain enough protein to fight and, once satisfied that I could, I stopped. I'll never go back.

I normally get paid tens of millions of pounds to fight and I ended up fighting for free. I don't like fighting for free.