Quotes from David Haye

Once you share a ring with someone, go to war with someone... you have a different type of respect for someone.

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.

There is no room for sentiment in a boxing ring.

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

I want to have the same success in my acting career as I did in my boxing career.

Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward. Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali. You get these rivalries in boxing - not that often, so when you do get them, why do you want to sanitise it?

It's the warm-up in the changing room when I switch on. I don't even think about the fight until then. Some fighters are bouncing about the walls, but I switch off. Then it's like someone flicks a switch in me.

I definitely believe if you give me any part of your chin, you are going to sleep.

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.

Chisora's not a nice man, not a nice human being.

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

I would fight till I'm dead. This is why I am here. I am put on Earth to fight. I feel it deep in my waters.

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.

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

In 2000, I got stuck in the sea off Cyprus after I fell off a boat. I was out there for over an hour. I am not a strong swimmer, but adrenaline kicked in, and I swam back.

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

Boxing fans are a very cynical bunch.

No flipping tables over any more for me.

Muhammad Ali is my hero. Yes, he was the best boxer in the world, but he also put himself on the line. He talked when black Americans had to be quiet.

Money talks at the end of the day.

I eat tall, chinny, Eastern European heavyweights for breakfast.

There are no shortcut to losing weight. Just hard work and dedication, hard work and dedication.

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.

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.'