HARDEST HITTER I FOUGHT
โMike Tyson, but Frank Bruno hit real hard too, as did Mike Weaver. I fought a lot of big punchers, guys who could stand up to my big punch. With Tyson, it was also his speed and his combinations. But Bruno also threw pretty good combinations. Brunoโs straight right hand was a hard punch.โ
MY TOUGHEST NIGHT
โAgain, it has to be Tyson! He was slipping all my punches and always coming. He was only 21 and at his peak. He was very strong and had those combinations. My plan was to take him into the later rounds and then get to him when he got tired โ but he never got tired. I was a little intimidated in that fight but I was never really hurt too bad.โ
MY GREATEST NIGHT
โWhen I won the [WBA] title, knocking out Tim Witherspoon inside a single round. That meant so much to me. Witherspoon was a tough guy, whoโd beaten me on points the year before. Nobody expected me to take him out, much less so fast [in the rematch]. He was a great fighter, a guy who got tougher the longer a fight went. I didnโt let the rematch get that far!โ
BEST I SPARRED
โMichael Spinks. We sparred at Joe Frazierโs gym in Philly. I was just coming up at the time, whereas Spinks was experienced, with the Olympics and his light-heavyweight title fights. But we sparred a lot of rounds, Iโd guess over a hundred. We mixed it up, too. He was slick and hard to hit and he knew how to block shots. I learned a whole lot from Michael, absolutely.โ
MY WORST NIGHT
โThe Tyson fight. Iโd do that differently if I could. I just couldnโt adjust to the guyโs style โ he crouched low and I couldnโt hit him properly. Anybody I hit, they were in trouble. Tyson, I couldnโt hit! It was a frustrating night in Las Vegas. Tyson was a student of boxing and he studied all his opponents. He was just totally prepared for me.โ
HARDEST PART OF RETIREMENT
โThere are no more big paydays coming my way [laughs]. I donโt miss the actual fighting. I saw that sorry event in Germany [Haye-Chisora brawl in July, 2012] and Iโm so glad I donโt have anything like that to deal with! Currently Iโm working for a vacation business in North Carolina, and as far as boxing and training goes, thatโs what Iโm on โ vacation! Iโm happy. God blessed me. I have my health and strength.โ