Anthony Joshua

Ali was a legend of our sport. For me as a kid, he inspired me to represent myself like a champion in and out of the ring.

I still feel I am that 14-year-old kid, hungry and trying to find a way through life. That's what I'm trying to develop, trying to be good at something through boxing. But I feel like that young kid who's trying and trying.

My mum and dad aren't together, but she plays a massive part in my life. We have deep conversations: I tell her where I need support, where I feel she's lacking, and I support her with whatever she needs. I understand she won't be here forever, and I want no regrets.

I am nice, yeah. I'm cool. But I'm no push-over. And if someone gets one over on me, they've done it when my eyes were closed, and it doesn't happen twice.

People have built me up to be untouchable, unbeatable, invincible, and I'm not that. I am a man, and I am a winner, but that can change in a second.

When you are caught with a big shot, you don't really feel it. It's like being in a car crash, and maybe your arm has been ripped off... it is only when you look down at it that you realise it has happened.

I didn't make the most of school, but boxing has given me discipline.

The mental is more important than the physical. You know, that voice in your head telling you to give up if it gets tough. That's my main opponent - making sure that if your body wants to stop, your mind won't let you.

I think towards the end of my career, I'm the man. But right now, I've still got that underdog mentality to keep on proving myself time and again. I'm not going to believe the hype.

Boxing's a sport that gives you licence to act like an idiot, I think.

I don't have a strict diet; I keep it simple. I try to eat fish, meat, veg and carbs - potatoes and rice - but I'll try and pack it in because as I'm burning so much energy. I have to see food as an energy source.

There's this idea that because I'm a heavyweight, I'm not supposed to be in condition, that I should take advantage of the fact that I can eat. But I train and eat well, and it shows when I step on the scales.

Sportsmen just do what they do. I'm not trying to be a role model. If there's any inspiration people can take from me, take as much as you can - from my good and my bad.

Am I feminist? I don't know. I'm not really sure what that is. I am all up for equality to a certain extent, although in the home, I do feel this is where the mother excels and the man needs to step back a bit. My family is from Nigeria, and this is our culture.

There's so much pressure on becoming the next Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson, and if you don't achieve that in boxing, you're nothing.

I know if I don't look after myself, I will be talking to you in a couple of years' time mumbling my words and slurring. It won't be because I am drunk: it will be the fighting, taking blow after blow to the brain. That scares me. I don't worry about being killed in the ring; it's losing my mind that I fear.

I realised that I could either fight and get into trouble on the street or I could fight and get paid in the ring. I chose the ring.

It takes a certain type of man to become a boxer, to fight for a living. To be able to have the confidence to hit another man, to control your fears. You must overcome the psychical aspect and believe in the art, the discipline of the sport. You need to study. You need to be smart.

For me to have a cheeky little biscuit, it's not going to hurt. But I need to control those indulgences. I can't just be scoffing cakes and biscuits five nights a week.

The way I meditate is by being organised. I can get real Zen if I go home and tidy the front room.

I can be the nice family man at home, and then when I go to the gym, maybe sparring with someone, I switch into beast mode. It ain't pretty.

People are paying to see me. You've got to give something back.

No matter how big and strong you are... even Tyson said he was scared as hell walking to the ring. Everyone feels the pressure.

You're confident, you're going to the ring to fight, but there's always that little thing where you're thinking, 'God.' You're nervous. But you have to embrace it and enjoy it.

Cut your arms and legs off, and you're left with a trunk, which you need to be as strong as possible. It's easier to push over someone who is tall and skinny than someone short and stocky. That's why we work everything from the calves to the neck.

I was raised well. My parents are from Nigeria; their culture is respectful. Very respectful. But I learnt that you have to be determined. It's not violence or aggression. It's sheer determination.

Wherever you get to is better than where you started. To stay on the road is a massive achievement.

Because I'm training so much, I always have a lot of energy. Once I've finished training, I come home and have some down time, and then I realise it's 12:30 A.M. and I should have been in bed 2 hours ago. That can get annoying.

Religion is supposed to be a positive thing when you look at the true religions around the world, not the fundamentalists. You always have to go with what your spirit tells you, not what people advise you. I'm a man that will always follow my own path.

Just set yourself a goal and try and stick to it. Because you'll always end up better than where you started.

I don't have a preferred religion - I'd have to do research. I was born a Christian, but as I've grown into my own man, I don't attach myself to a religion - 100 per cent, I have faith. Then it's locking into what suits me.

In boxing, it is about the obsession of getting the most from yourself: wanting to dominate the world like a hungry young lion.

As long as you have discipline, you can be a success. Discipline is what makes you do everything you need to do.

I used to drink. I didn't like reading, but I discovered the benefits of it. I read that Floyd Mayweather never drinks - and he is the blueprint for boxing.

Sleeping is like meditation: it's good to rest the body but also to shut the mind down for a bit.

There are two types of warriors: the one that rides through on his horse and tries to slay everyone, and the sniper. I try to be more like the sniper. Bang. Bang. Bang. Break them down, shot by shot.

This is boxing, not tennis. Everyone likes a bit of rivalry, it makes for a good fight.

You have to speak from a place where all is possible. When you speak from a place where there's limits, you've already set yourself up to fail.

It's hard to say I don't like being famous, but how I feel is that I don't see myself as that person. It baffles me that people would want a picture with me.

I became so disciplined when I was on tag. I would be at home by eight o'clock, and because I had boxing, I lived the disciplined life. I started reading because I learnt that so many champions educated themselves. Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins. Before, it was 'act now, think later' - but the discipline and reading changed me.

I know every fight could be my last fight, and if that happens, that's not just a health issue, but I'll be knocked off that king's stool.

It's not so much about conquering Madison Square Garden or Vegas. The opponents who I fight will take me all around different venues and arenas. I need to conquer opponents.

I'll get seven hours sleep a night, but after breakfast, I'll have an hour just resting, to recover. In Spain they all have siestas, even businessmen.

People who do crime do it for reward. But you end up in jail - that's no reward. Through crime, your ambitions are low.

The belt doesn't represent me; it's how you deal with people, how you represent yourself as a champion. The belt is a sign of a champion, but what makes a champion is the things I have just said.

Boxing is the embodiment of who I am, but beyond that, this is a journey of the self, and my obsession to get the most from this short life.

America is the mecca of boxing, and they've had some great champions here. It's good to establish your skills and let people know what you're about in the States.

Don't worry about the title. Worry about what you've got to do today, tomorrow, the next day, and that title will be waiting for you.

Prayer is a method practised from ancient days, so it's very important for us to maintain a spiritual connection, something that people, gladiators would do years ago, so we're just maintaining that routine.

Prayer is a form of meditation, isn't it? It's laws of attraction: whatever you put out into the universe is what it receives. It's just kind of putting your thoughts out into the universe.