Quotes from Anthony Yarde

I didn't start boxing until I was 18 but I believe that is a big advantage now. If you start too young, it's easy to become distracted.

I used to have a short temper. I still have one and when I lose it, it's bad. I think it comes from what you see when you're young. Sometimes it builds from being scared as well. Once you lose it once, you find comfort in losing your temper. It becomes embedded in you.

I was offered the Kovalev fight in 2018 but my manager and promoter agreed it wasn't the right time for me to be challenging for a world title then. I needed a few more tuneup fights, learning fights, and I'm fine with that.

You have to have plans. But the important thing first is to do your job in the ring. If you do that properly, then success will come.

Even after your fight on the night, you have loads of media you have to do and people expecting stuff from you and you want to make everyone proud. So afterwards I take three or four days off and I just want to eat and eat and eat.

I just say to myself I'm going to be a better fighter day to day. That's my thing.

I am not looking at Dec Spelman as if he is a fighter I can just walk through. I don't go out looking for knockouts.

It's about getting in there and being ready, getting the fight on your terms, taking the least amount of punishment possible.

Sometimes if you spend your time focusing on other people, you give them energy over you; you give them power.

I told my boss, 'Thank you - but I'm not going to be here tomorrow. I'm going to pursue my career as a boxer.' I remember the woman actually laughed at me. She giggled and said, 'Boxing? Well, good luck.'

I saw a lot of bad things happen by people I know and to people I know. There were a lot of different gangs around and sometimes you found yourself in conflict. I found myself attracting negative things because I was in a negative environment, I was pre-determining this stuff before it happened.

Idras Elba was from Forest Gate - where I am from - there are a lot of great people around if they can be given a chance or have the belief.

Us fighters thrive on performing and entertaining a crowd.

When I told people my plan was to knock everyone out in the amateurs and become world champion as quickly as I could as a professional, a lot of people said it was impossible.

Mayweather has been hit the least out of every world champion in history and that is the art of the sport; to hit and not get hit.

I don't want to become world champion and lose it immediately. I want to become world champion, take over the division and take it from there.

If someone said at the end of 2016 that I'd be ranked No.1 in England, have three titles and be ranked top ten in the world at the end of 2017, I would have said probably not.

I remember when I used to go to York Hall and just watch, and I'd be like 'how are these people doing it.' Even though I was an amateur boxer at the time, I was like 'how are these guys fighting professionally in this arena?'

I've been listening 50 cent's audiobook, 'The Hustler.'

I've had 12 amateur fights, 18 professional fights and I've come to Russia, not just to Russia but to Chelyabinsk, home of Sergey Kovalev who has an impressive resume. The fact I've come to his backyard means I feel it will go down as one of the best results ever.

When I was growing up Harlequins were interested in signing me because I was very fast and strong at an early age, but I wasn't interested in rugby at the time.

I haven't done no trash talking. And, I don't do trash talking.

I remember being in fights and being tremendously outnumbered and it escalating into something much worse. That's why I laughed when people asked if I was scared of going to Russia. If only they knew about some of the things I've seen.

Nine times out of 10 the smarter or mentally focused fighter comes out on top.