Quotes from Daniel Jacobs

The cancer battle, it helped me put a lot of things in perspective and gave me time to reflect and think.

I have athletic power that people can't see, that sharpness, the big bang that hits you.

The doctors misdiagnosed me at first - they told me I had a pinched nerve. But my situation was getting worse. The tumor was cutting off the circulation in my nerves. And in two weeks' time, I was left paralyzed. I went from a cane to crutches to a walker to a wheelchair.

They say the only thing that your parents don't teach you is how to live without them, but my grandma's religious beliefs allowed me to accept death even though it was so hard to live without her.

When you're from Brooklyn, you've got to rep, and you've got to perform, like it's your last fight on earth.

Fighting cancer taught me more than I ever could have imagined, but I've beaten it.

The thing I've most realized is that when people come up to me and tell me how much my story means to them, how much it was inspiration for them to see me fight through and push through with my career, I realized love is real. And there's no greater feeling in this world, to give back and touch people.

I've always vowed that if I had a child, I would treat him right. My father was a perfect model for me because everything that he did wrong, or everything that he did I would just do the opposite. Which would be the right thing to do. So that is being in your son's life 100 percent, give them love, give them affection, give them discipline.

In 2007, I dreamed of Olympic gold but got outpointed in the Olympic trials.

I might have a snack before bed. We have healthy cheat snacks. I might eat some apricots or veggie straws.

So many people are affected by cancer, whether you have it, or a family member.

Being bullied is the reason I got into boxing. When I was 14, I was being bullied by a kid in junior high school. I wanted to do this the right way. So we went to a boxing gym. We boxed, I beat him up in the ring. He never bullied me again and I found my passion in the sport of boxing.

I'm not out to knock anybody out, even though knockouts are cool.

I'm a Triple G fan.

Mentally, I don't think there's anything that can discourage me.

I have so many memories, and I love music because you can listen to a song when you're at a certain place or doing something special and that particular song will always remind you of that thing.

I get to eat what I want on Sundays. You still can have a cheat day up to two weeks before the fight.

I'm a pure boxer. I have lightning speed that hurts guys. But I love to box. I love to be on my back foot. I love to work my jab and combinations.

I believe my speed is my greatest advantage. My skill, my ring generalship... I could go on and on.

At one point, I didn't really consider myself as a puncher because it was more so that the speed created the knockouts. People were getting hit with punches they didn't see and they were going down.

When I first turned pro, I was making a lot of money, and I was spending money from two fights down the line.

I'm a very spiritual guy. I'm a firm believer of positive energy.

I've seen a lot in my life and nothing really shocked me, just being where I'm from. But this was unexpected. It just hit me, like, I have cancer? Me?

I'm fortunate for where I come from because even though I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth, it allowed me to appreciate any little thing that I have.