Top ten: Boxing quotes of all time

My boxing coach once told me ‘’boxing is a mugs game’’. To me it’s the ultimate test of competition. Boxing like the movies is show business, like a soap-opera there are characters and like life there is also a dark side. Yet all these factors combined is what makes ‘’the sweet science’’ one of the most exciting and unpredictable sports in the world.

Here are my top ten boxing quotes of all time:

10. "Earnie Shavers could punch you in the neck and break your ankle." Randall "Tex" Cobb.

Randall Cobb is known for having one of the best chins in boxing history. That means he could take a punch from a bear and keep moving forward. His granite face stood the test against some of the toughest men in boxing. Earnie Shavers was one such man. The ability to take punishment in the ring is just as important as dishing it out.

9. “There are too many governing bodies. They're all corrupt. I think they have replaced the old Mobsters with the kind of 'corporate rule' of boxing.”  Larry Merchant.

Larry Merchant is one crazy SOB. Although essentially a madman with a microphone, he is a longstanding and world famous commentator and boxing pundit (I know everyone’s a pundit these days but he really is) having spent more than 30yrs at ringside analysing fights. Here, he highlights the harsh reality that lives within the dark-shadows of the sport.

The silver-haired-MC will most recently be remembered for his comical-outburst (akin to verbal assault) aimed at undefeated 5-division-world-champion Floyd Mayweather Jr; “If I was 20 yrs younger I would kick your butt.’’ Is what he said amidst a farcical post-fight interview with the champ, at the Mayweather vs. Ortiz kerfuffle. You could put 20 Larry Merchant’s in the ring with Floyd and they could all be in their prime, and they would still come up short. Sorry Larry.

8. ‘’To see a man beaten not by a better opponent but by himself is a tragedy.’’ Cus D’Amato.

Cus D’Amato was responsible for creating one of the hardest men in the world; ‘’Iron’’ Mike Tyson. As his guardian and manager, he honed Mike’s skills teaching him life lessons on the mental aspect of fighting along the way. “Fighting is 90% mental and 10% physical’’. You must have heard that one. Sure these days you have trainers like Freddie Roach becoming house-hold names, training Hollywood actors and what not, but Cus was cut from a different cloth - he was the godfather of boxing.

7. "He can have heart, he can hit harder and he can be stronger, but there's no fighter smarter than me." Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Like him or not, Floyd Mayweather Jr. captures the essence of what a highly capable tactician can do in the ring to bigger, stronger men with "more strength" than him. The Wu-tang Clan put it best; “the game of chess is like a swordfight. You must think first, before you move’’ – the same is true of boxing.

6. "...if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali." Chuck Wepner.

This was heavyweight-underdog Chuck Wepner’s reply to a reporter asking him if he thought he could survive against Ali. Did you know that Wepner tried to sue Sylvestor Stallone in his later life claiming that Sly used his life as the real inspiration for the Rocky story? Personally, I think he may have taken too many blows to the head. If anyone deserves to be associated with Rocky – it should be Philadelphia’s favourite son and boxing legend “smoking’’ Joe Frazier.

5. "It's like someone jammed an electric light bulb in your face, and busted it. I thought half my head was blowed off...When he knocked me down I could have stayed there for three weeks." James J Braddock.

This gem was delivered by James Braddock, in an attempt to describe what being on the other end of the punching power of boxing great Joe Louis was like.

4. "My style is impetuous, my defence is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious; I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!" Mike Tyson.

No countdown of sayings would be complete without the hard-hitting and equally as hard-biting, Mike Tyson. A separate list could be made for Mike but this is quite possibly his most famous crazy tirade and while the first part sounds about right, he clearly lost the plot by the end. ‘’What did Mike Tyson say to Van Gogh? ...You gonna eat that?’’ I just couldn’t help myself.

3. "Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm or you're in trouble." Sugar Ray Robinson.

Robinson is thought by many (even Mohammed Ali) to be the greatest fighter of all time to ever don a pair of Everlast. His rhythmic advice is just one example that illustrates how deep the sport of fisticuffs can get. After all, they don’t say "dancers make good fighters’’ and call it the ‘’sweet science’’ for nothing.

2. ''I fought Sugar so many times, it's a surprise i'm not diabetic.'' Jake Lamotta

(3:28 point.)

If you’ve seen the film Raging Bull you will no doubt love Jake Lamotta. Together, Lamotta and Sugar Ray Robinson defined each other’s legacy. Think Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed and you’ll get one-third of the picture. This pair of beloved-boxing greats fought each other 6 times. Nowadays, the best in boxing rarely meet each other, the frustration and yearning for a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather throw-down will tell you this. These two did and they will always be remembered.
 
 1. "We gon' float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. AH! Rumble, young man rumble! AH!" Mohammed Ali.

Mohammed Ali is in at number one because if you only remember one quote from the sport of boxing it’s probably this. Some say it was actually Bundini, Ali's trainer who coined the phrase but I suspect no one cares about him.

This quote has inspired and continues to inspire many thinkers and doers of all backgrounds and professions, not just boxing. Not many boxing phrases eclipse the sport on the level this phrase has. Plus, it’s only fitting that the number one quote winds up being said by boxing’s number one best.