Our Favorite Quotes of 2008
Published by on January 2nd, 2009

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By Scoop Malinowski

2008 was a great year for boxing, a lot was accomplished and a lot was said. Here were some of our favorite quotes from the great year of boxing in 2008…

Joe Calzaghe: “I’ve been chasing the fight with Bernard Hopkins for years but he’s always backed down. You heard him, he promised to make the fight this time. And I’m happy to come to America to make it happen.”

Bernard Hopkins: “I’m gonna take that 0 from you (Joe Calzaghe). I’m a legend, I’m going to get you. I’m going to wreck your face.”

Bob Arum: “Mayweather only fights guys he can beat. Mayweather never would fight Margarito, you know that. He won’t fight Mosley, you know that. He won’t fight Cotto. So forget Floyd Mayweather.”

Larry Merchant: “Television is the medium of show and tell. The show – meaning the fighters – are the most important by far. I’m just one of the tellers and I am deeply honored to be a footnote of all the great fighters that are in the Hall of Fame.”

Lennox Lewis: “I’m proud and honored to be selected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I’m humbled to be considered among the greats in my field by esteemed boxing historians and professionals. My journey began over 30 years ago when I put on my first pair of gloves. I continued boxing because I loved the sport and received tremendous support from my family and coaches. To know that all of those years of hard work and sacrifice through my amateur and professional career have been recognized and appreciated by the best in the boxing community is a great feeling. I can’t wait to join everyone in Canastota in June to celebrate.”

Kelly Pavlik: “Boxing fans are hungry for a new guy to come around who goes to the ring and takes care of business, and doesn’t shoot his mouth off in a negative way. When Ali was running his mouth he had something to say. Too many of the guys today don’t say anything worth listening to and they aren’t even funny.”

Antonio Tarver: “Don King was my promoter for about two years. Believe it or not, he was an honest man. I think that a lot of people don’t recognize that, being with him. But business is business. And I respect Don for being a businessman. And I will say this to any athlete: If you’re dumb enough not to have a great contract, then it’s nobody’s fault but your’s.”

Teddy Atlas: “What they (Eastern European boxers) lack athletically, they make for on fundamentals, determination, working on fundamentals. There’s less choices over there. They have a good amateur program. They have more fights. I think they have more of a sense of urgency, hunger. They see coming to America and succeeding here as their big opportunity.”

Bernard Hopkins: “Floyd will have nightmares with Cotto.”

Bob Arum: “Floyd Mayweather is the biggest fraud in boxing history.”

Felix Trinidad: “That is what I missed during my leave – the feeling of the big victory. I want to be remebered as a great champion that always went into the ring and gave my best as a fighter and fought for all my fans. As a person – that I did my best in everything I do.”

Sultan Ibragimov: “I saw how hard they work in the gym in Russia. Here, they (American boxers) don’t work as hard.”

Joshua Clottey: “I can’t lose to Zab, hell no. Hell no. I can’t lose to Zab. If I lose to Zab that means – I know how I am, how capable, how strong – if he beat me he’ll beat Cotto and the rest of the guys (at 147). Because I’m not an easy guy.” (Key to victory vs. Zab?) Who can stand the heat, who can fight the 12 rounds, who can stand the punching that I’m coming to do. I’m coming to do the best I can, to throw my best shots. Whatever he’s throwing at me I will take. Whoever will stand for the whole 12 round will win.”

Bob Arum: “If (Mayweather) considers himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, he should fight the best out there. No question about that. Enough people have raised that, What about Cotto? What about Margarito? Well he ain’t having any of that. You know who he’s gonna fight? He’s gonna fight a nonsense fight again with De La Hoya which they’re gonna try to sell based on his father working De La Hoya’s corner. And them cursing at each other and making spectacles of themselves. And HBO will empower them by doing a 24/7 and a whole nine yards. And then he’s gonna fight Ricky Hatton. Imagine that! Ricky Hatton!”

Charles Brewer: “The fight I actually fought against Joe Calzaghe I was so disappointed in myself. Because of the performance I put on. What threw me off was in the first round, as opposed to me being the aggressor and him being the counterpuncher and mover, we met (he bangs hands together) – dead center of the ring – and that’s how it stayed from round one to round 12. Everything that I prepared for and trained to do, I didn’t do it. I fought one-dimensional the entire fight. And he was able to walk away with a very cleanly given victory.”

Antonio Margarito: “I learned from the Paul Williams fight that I had to put the pressure on him right away. I had to fight from the beginning.”

Evangelista Cotto: “We’ve always had a lot of respect for Margarito. We know what kind of fighter he is. We know it’s a very dangerous fight for us.”

Bob Arum: “I think Mayweather sat at home and watched (Cotto KO Gomez, Margarito KO Cintron twinbill) and then he signed on for a flight to Mars.” (Note: Instead, Floyd decided to retire from boxing than face Cotto or Margarito.)

Bob Arum: “HBO would love to do Mayweather vs. Cotto. But they can’t do it. Mayweather is a coward. A PSYCHOLOGICAL COWARD. He’s AFRAID TO LOSE. As long as some boxing writers are gonna vote for him as Fighter of the Year, because he beat a 400-pound guy didn’t he? – then it’s gonna empower him. You gotta understand, he’s a psychological coward. He’s afraid to lose.”

Emanuel Steward: “David Haye’s got speed. And he has a burning desire to win. He comes out with an arrogance and a willingness to let his right hand go. While the rest of the guys (heavyweights) are going to be conservative, laid back. And they can’t beat Wladimir with that style. He’s too big and too technical.”

Antonio Margarito: “Right now I don’t care (who I fight). Anybody, Mayweather, Cotto, give me Mayweather or give me Cotto. Anyone. Anyone. Whatever one you want, give it to me. I take it. Right now I’m ready for anybody. Mayweather, for a long time, I tried to follow him. But he never gave me the chance to talk to him. One time, Mayweather lost $10,000,000 but he didn’t want to fight me.”

Miguel Cotto: “That’s the thing he (Mayweather) does for his whole career. He run from the really good boxer kind, he choose the others. I don’t know how the people who know about boxing put him in the first place in the pound-for-pound champion. I don’t know what kind of reason he has for choosing another fighter (than Cotto). If you want to be the best you have to fight the best.”

Floyd Mayweather: “Miguel Cotto is a punching bag. He knows he can’t beat me.”

Miguel Cotto: “He (Floyd) is quick, he’s fast. But when you put pressure on him he closes his mind.”

Miguel Cotto: “When you call yourself the best boxer in the world you have to fight with the best. There are other names at 147 pounds and if Mayweather does not have the courage to get in the ring to fight with me, my career has to continue. I can’t wait for him.”

Wladimir Klitschko: “Right now I don’t see anyone (heavyweights from the U.S.). A young person is definitely there though. Suddenly there will be a new Ali, or a new Tyson.”

Manny Pacquiao: “Yeah, I did well tonight, I got lucky (vs. Oscar). Well sir, my job is to train hard and fight in the ring. Thank God for giving the victory tonight. Thank God giving me this another victory tonight. It’s going to be a big, big honor for our contry, not for me. To all the Philippinos who love boxing and all the people who love boxing, thank you.”