Chris Eubank Sr.

I shouldn't be called eccentric. I should be called a normal guy.

The only thing I have to do in this life is stay black and die. No one can force me to do anything.

The reason why I'm such a successful pugilist is that no one knows my limitations better than me. I am quite good, but I am not the best in the world. But I am one of the best and I'm quite content with that.

I'll fight anyone I can beat. I'm a businessman first and a boxer second. I'm looking for the readies. The aim is to win at all costs.

You aren't going to show me something I haven't seen. Nobody can bring something to me that I don't already know, not in boxing. That's where I've mastered my trade, I can't talk in other fields.

Boxing is a mug's game.

Yes, I have spent. I have lived and had accidents. It's all part of life's wonderful experience.

Bankruptcy, divorce, these are feathers in my cap, I suppose. I have a wisdom which has been born from these things.

Most people seem to think I am something of a character and the things that have befallen me are par for my course.

I think a great deal of my son, I love my son. The things I do are unthinkable. I do them because he even though he can't see the pain on my side, I still give and give for what? So he can have a better future.

The harshness of my upbringing did not affect me in the negative. But it has affected many people in the negative.

I'm an entertainer, aren't I? I think.

When I finished boxing, all that was available was commentating. But that's not me. I've got too much artistic licence to get out.

The first martial art my son learnt aged around ten was jiu-jitsu so he can already wrestle. I'd have no concerns about Christopher boxing someone from MMA.

I'm not bankrupt of effervescence. I'm not bankrupt of craic.

DeGale has the pedigree that is spoken about in terms of gold medallists and former world champions.

Fear gives you your intensity, it gives you your game.

I admire rugged hard men who play rugby because it's something I would never contemplate.

Boxing is the more dangerous activity from the rugby player's and the general public's point of view, but to me rugby is far more dangerous so I would prefer my sons to box. I love my children too much and do not want to watch them getting hurt. This is in no way intended as a criticism of rugby, which I consider to be a fantastic sport.

I am benevolent.

I am a strong father.

I am tough. I am relentless.

The Watson fight was the worst beating I ever took in a ring, but I couldn't quit.

I am a sensitive, emotionally conditioned human being, and I have suffered racist abuse.

My father never played with me. I can remember my father picking me up - once. I can remember my father telling me behind a closed door that he loved me - once.

When someone has speed they throw four punches to your one, you cannot beat them.

Let me tell you, the jodhpur in the world of fashion is a formidable adversary to the trouser. It gives automatic swagger to anyone who wears them.

My mother imparted on me that I must be a good custodian of my father's name and that is what I ask of my children. One should conduct themselves in the correct manner, respect one's elders and do the right thing.

I effectively stood on the shoulders of a giant to make a little bit of noise myself. I'm a by-product of Muhammad Ali.

Sometimes you can win by persevering, pushing and pressuring your competition.

Benn was brute force, wasn't he? But he found God when he was 40... and the only reason I beat him, was because I was brought up in the church. It teaches you to be calm to be objective and steady and the reasoning I used beat him - and he found it when he was 40. I didn't change anything: there is only one way, to be calm, gentle and true.

I've always been a giving man; it doesn't cost me anything and it's a pleasure to give what I know.

I have always been the sort of person to give advice to those coming up behind me and I will continue to. It's what I do, what I am.

I went to a foreign land, New York City in 1982 and had no money, no respect in the gym. Everyone thinks you're full of it. The remit in those days was break his heart, get him out of the gym.

When I say my family suffered for my anti-war protesting, one of the many fallouts was having to send my two sons to America because I couldn't keep control of them when the divorce happened... there are consequences for your actions.

There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed free speech. If you speak freely, you are then deemed as I was, to be a subversive.

Boxing isn't just about fighting people, it's about being a standard bearer. You become a beacon for the people.

If you choose to do something that you know you cannot do, or that is going to be very difficult, then you are a fool!

I don't drink in public. I don't swear on TV. All I want is for people to say Chris Eubank is an all-right guy.

I can slip a punch, not by three inches, but by a centimetre. Just have it brush past me. And raise an eyebrow at the same time.

I want to enjoy the magic of the instrument which is my body.

I want to jump into rivers off of high ridges when I'm 75.

I've always had something much more than money, which is respect. When I was champion, people looked into my heart and some said, 'We may not like Mr Eubank, but we respect him. He fights beyond the call of duty and he never quits.'

I beat many good fighters and many who were better than me and the reason I beat them was because I was persistent, I was willing to go through those pain barriers.

I see myself as a martial artist. I'm a creative fighter. It's not about hitting the guy and hurting him, it's about scoring points, with grace.

Art to me means lot of things - images and words. I may be no artist myself, but I recognise the pleasure you get from a new proverb or a new painting. It puts you in a particular frame of mind. Visually I like art, philosophically I like art.

I'm interested in aesthetics, language, art, fashion, everything.

Every fighter has a duty to boxing to not bring themselves or the sport into disrepute by foul language or behaviour so that boxing can be seen as a gentleman's sport.

Fighters who speak disparagingly about fighters from years gone by do us all a disservice. It is treacherous.

When people speak disparagingly about others, they are really damaging themselves.