Top 92 Quotes & Sayings by Larry Holmes

Mike Tyson would have been a good sparring partner for me and Muhammad Ali because Tyson was a fast fighter and he could punch and throw good combinations.

Fighters today are much bigger, stronger and quicker and not only that but referees, judges and doctors back then were very strict and if your head got busted up the fight would be stopped.

I don't really make plans and I just want to be happy and continue with my business and take care of my wife and kids. I want to sit back, relax and enjoy life.

With a record of 75 fights and 6 losses, some of the losses were very questionable including Brian Nielsen when we fought in Denmark. I knew I won but they didn't give me that fight.

I still feel that I am in my prime right now but I think my best fights were in my thirties.

I don't think Joe Louis could take the punches today fighting in this era.

Everybody knows that I am one of the greatest fighters of all time and I would beat all those guys.

All fighters are prostitutes and all promoters are pimps.

I came from a dirt farm, now I'm filthy rich.

You can't put those guys like Marciano or anyone else in with today's class of fighters.

I am still quick at 250 to 260 lbs and I am smarter.

I have a lot of friends and fans in Canada and as a matter of fact I met a fan from there that came down to my office. It was nice and we took pictures and had a nice talk.

I think George Foreman must have gained about 350 lbs and is slow as ever.

My fans know the name Larry Holmes and that he always gave it his all.

Bob Arum and Don King can do their thing but if I fought for those guys and they put the money up like they are supposed to then I don't have a problem.

I think Ali was a fan of mine, even though he never said it. A lot of fighters thought I was pretty good. Nobody every really spoke different on that. But a lot of fighters thought I was good so.

Ali was a guy that had a lot of discipline. If you hung around him, you'd be able to get some of that discipline that he had. And I learned from that. He was a sweet man.

George Foreman is easier and has the bigger name and have you noticed that Foreman never calls me out or ever mentions my name? He is afraid of me like most fighters are and most people want to forget about Larry Holmes, like he never ever existed.

Muhammad could take a very good punch. He was slick, he could move, he could hit, make you miss, good hand speed and combinations and one of the greatest fighters of all time in my opinion.

I'm not in the K-1 tournament. We thought about it but they really don't want me as they feel I might get hurt so that's fine with me but I do see a lot of guys out there that I feel I can take.

I would think about the outcome. Visualize sometimes. Because it never comes out the way you want it to. Fight the way I know how to fight. Whatever comes up, comes up.

Those guys were made for me and Muhammad because they come straight in and don't back up but you had to watch out for his punching power but if we could have neutralized that then we would have been fine.

I never tried to be a mercenary or a killer but a hard working fighter.

It's hard being black. You ever been black? I was black once - when I was poor.

We put our life on the line to fight for them, put on a show and these guys take our money so whatever happens to Bob Arum, Don King or anyone else is fine with me.

I was probably the best that ever walked this earth. And I could take a punch. I could deliver a punch. I didn't have the hardest punch in the world but my punches were sharp and they were crisp. And if you took too many of them, you would be knocked out.

I always felt good about myself. I was just an average person. I always felt I could do anything anyone else could. If an average person makes up their mind to do something, they can.

The guys today are just too strong and back then they would take many hard punches to land one.

One of the best ones out there was a guy named Howard Cosell. He was the best.

Let people live their lives, as long as they don't hurt anybody. As long as they don't destroy their own lives.

I achieved something once again, I think we all want to put a mark on life. I dream, and my dreams always come true. I dreamed I was the heavyweight champion of the world. I am the heavyweight champion of the world.

Joe Louis was a good Heavyweight, good boxer but he was kind of in the same boat as Marciano, weighing about 190 to 200 lbs.

I make appearances, but I really want to spend more time fishing. That is what I really enjoy doing with my spare time.

My dad used to tell me, 'Check the price, son.' Check the price, kids, check the price because there is a price to be paid for whatever you do in life, whether it is good or it is bad. Before you do something, ask yourself is it worth the price you have to pay?

You never heard of any of the fighters [in heavyweight division]. It is very hard to watch. It upsets me to turn on my television set and never be able to look forward to a good fight in that weight class.

Everyone still wants to see [Floyd] Mayweather and [Manny] Pacquaio fight. When the talks start though, it always seem like it is all about Mayweather, and I think the people hate that.

All fighters are prostitutes and all promoters are pimps

The seventies and eighties are when the division was really good. The fights were very enjoyable and everyone knew when the next fight was. Nowadays, you don't even know who won a fight three days after it happens. We need heavyweights, the people want heavyweights.

It wasn't about Larry Holmes, if I would have fought a brother I wouldn't have gotten the money I got. Give me 10 black guys and I make eight dollars. Give me Gerry Cooney and I make $10 million.

Now I'm free of him and I'm light as a feather. There's no weight holding me down; I'm ready to spread my wings and fly.

This is the lying thieving mother who cut me $500,000.

Mike Tyson is a sharp puncher. Earnie Shavers was a PUNISHING puncher. There was a difference between the two. Because when Shavers hit you, you feel it all the way through your body.

Fighters DON'T know how to jab. You take Roy Jones, for instance. He paws his jab. He throws it out, it don't land. And then he'll hit you with a left hook, hit you with a right hand. But he doesn't really know the jab. A guy needs to learn the jab, know the jab, and use the jab. And these guys don't do it today.

I don't think boxing needs to be regulated. I think boxing needs to have a complaint board. And I think the complaint board should be able to look into boxing situations - as far as if you're getting what you should be getting, whether you're being managed, not being managed, etc.

I don't owe Don King anything. I got things with my own sweat and blood. I don't know if I'll be associated with Don but I won't be a slave or puppet for him.

I'm happy with my career but I could have been happier if I could have been treated like a champion should have been treated because management and fighters take advantage of fighters.

I have learned that promoters can love you, hate you, then love you again.

I think a trainer is very important at the beginning of a fighter's career. A fighter needs to know how to throw a left, throw a right, how to duck, how to do certain things. Over time, you don't really need a trainer. You've got to train yourself. You've got to motivate yourself. And I don't think anybody can put that in you.

I'm not a guy who counts cards. I'm a guy that plays with feeling. Because I feel that if something is going to come up, it comes up; if it doesn't, it doesn't. And a lot of people get pissed at me because that's the way I play but that's the way I learned to play - with my feelings.

The only thing I'd like to see is to give fighters an option to wear a small headguard, a one-ounce headguard. Some fighters might not want that option. But you know - you're training all the time, you're boxing all the time, and you've got a headguard on, you're using big gloves, and you're getting hit. And you observe that your face is better protected that way. Now they're doing it with ten-ounce gloves and no headguard. I think if they have a one-ounce headguard on to protect some of those brain cells in the head, it would be beneficial to the fighter.

There is no quit in me.

When the bell rings, your trainer can't help you.

My actions speak louder than my words.

Tyson is a lot better than I thought, a lot better. People can talk about Spinks all they want... Tyson is the true champion.

I won't say I won't fight again but I don't think anyone wants to fight me so I am finished and I will just continue with boxing exhibitions.

I don't know if I have any regrets, I have had a pretty successful life. I have learned good, bad, and ugly.

I think the world is changing. And it's changing so fast that people have to change with it.

Set a goal and make a commitment to meet that goal. Do the best you can, but never forget your roots, never forget where you came from. After you have succeeded, look back and see if there are others that you might help to achieve what you have accomplished.

People think that I reached the top overnight; well, it took me fourteen years. I was twenty-nine before I really made it. I've had my jaws and hands broken. One arm is out of place. I've paid my dues in this business.

Boxing is already stable, as far as the opportunity to fight, opportunity for fighters to step inside the ring and make some money - I think that's OK, that's fairly legit. I just think fighters need to be represented when it comes down to making sure the "i" is dotted and the "t" is crossed.