Mike Tyson Quotes

Every great general and warrior from the beginning of time was high.

I live for the moment to hit people.

A man that is a friend to everyone is an enemy to himself.

I still can’t believe [ Muhammad Ali ] knows my name. It astounds me he knows who I am. I first met Ali in 1976. I was locked up in a juvenile home and he came to visit. I’ve never forgotten it.

I don't try to intimidate anybody before a fight. That's nonsense. I intimidate people by hitting them.

I think the reality of prison is you don't get anything unless you want it in there. Whatever happens to you in prison, this is what you asked for. Nothing happens to you if you don't give that vibe.

I love acting. I love stage work, more than anything. It's just live. It's right there in front of you. If you make a mistake, they know it and you know it. I won't do anything where I feel like I'm just making a fool out of myself. By doing that, I'm able to rise to my highest potential.

I love to hit people. I love to.

I just don't have the desire no more, I don't have the stomach to do it no more. I don't even kill insects in my house. I just don't kill anything no more. I used to kill pigeons, rip their heads off, 'You dirty rat pigeon!' I don't even have the heart to kill an animal no more. I just changed my whole life in general. That probably could have changed the way I fight.

I don't want anyone to have to interview me. I wish I didn't have to talk too much about myself.

I know at times I come across like a Neanderthal or a babbling idiot, but I like that person.

My biggest weakness is my sensitivity. I am too sensitive a person.

Everybody in America is so money-hungry. It's like a rat race and even when you win you're still a freaking rat.

Not to be egotistical, but I don't think there is a man on this planet who can beat me

Discipline makes hard men. Every hard man is capable of being a killer. But every killer is not capable of being a hard man. They can't endure that much. It's all about the endurance. That's why they become killers. Because they can't endure the pain. They need to kill the pain to stop it.

Friendth, Romanth, countrymen, lend me your earsth.

Every time there's a revolution, it comes from somebody reading a book about revolution. David Walker wrote a book and Nat Turner did his thing.

I paid a worker at New York's zoo to re-open it just for me and Robin (his wife). When we got to the gorilla cage there was 1 big Silverback gorilla there just bullying all the other gorillas. They were so powerful but their eyes were like an innocent infant. I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let smash that silverback's snotbox! He declined.

I'm not afraid to be a jerk or anything and laugh at myself anymore.

One minute I'm robbing a dope house. Next minute I'm the youngest heavyweight champion of the world. I'm only 20, 19, with a lot of money. Who am I? What am I? I don't even know who I am. I'm just a dumb child who's being abused and robbed by lawyers. I'm just a dumb pugnacious fool. I'm just a fool who thinks he's someone. Then you tell me I should be responsible.

I don't do nothin' unless I risk humiliating myself and really embarrassing myself. When I have that hanging over my head, it allows me to rise to the occasion.

It doesn’t faze me what anyone says about me. It doesn’t matter what anyone says about me. I’m a totally different entity to what other people think. Michael and Tyson are two different people. I’m Tyson here.

Things can change. Life is all a learning process.

We all have to control our feelings. That's the thing that separates us from animals.

I like horror movies. Nightmare on Elm Street is my favourite. I even get scared a little bit watching horror.

I may have smoked too much weed, but I wasn't taking drugs or anything.

People tell me I'm a comedian, but I don't approach acting from that perspective. I do know that everything in life has to do with your timing and perception. You have to be comfortable with the rhythm that you're in. You can't just jump into a fast rhythm if yours is slow. You might have to pick up the pace but in your own particular way. It has to do with personality, too.

Whatever my situation, I'm a strong disciplinarian; I can do what I hate to do but do it like I love it.

There are not many regrets that I have. There are a few things that I wish I'd changed in my life, but they are not so dramatic that I'd go out of my way to change them. But I go back and think about my life so far periodically in my head.

You can't stay married in a situation where you are afraid to go to sleep in case your wife might cut your throat.

I was an emotional manipulator of fighters . . . You have to know how to be cold, you know? Just have no -emotions, no feelings. It takes time, though, to develop that. I'd been working on that since I was 12 years old. It doesn't happen overnight.

They called me a 'rapist' and a 'recluse.' I'm not a recluse.

Sometimes during a relationship, a friendship, a friend's gonna have to prove they're your friend, and you're gonna have to prove you're their friend.

As human beings, nobody gets out of this world free. We all have to do some suffering before we leave.

The tempt for greatness is the biggest drug in the world.

Fear is like fire; it can be helpful if you know how to use. If not, you'll get burned.

I'm the most brutal and ruthless conquerer there has ever been.

I'm addicted to perfection. Problem with my life is I was always also addicted to chaos. Perfect chaos.

It's just what I'm born to do, I'm born to entertain people. I could do it for thirty-thousand people or three people, it's just what I know how to do. My soul objective only is for me to have the audience say 'when's the next time I can see him?' That's what I do.

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze.

It's unnatural to fight somebody who has nothing against you and never did anything to you or to your family, who never stole anything from you. And now you've got to go and try to dismantle this guy.

If my children will live a better life than I did by my getting brain damage, by my being brain dead, then let it be.

I think the average person thinks I'm a nut and I deserve whatever happens to me.

I can't change myself. I'm Mike Tyson. I'm a regular kid from the getto striving to do something positive with myself. I happen to fight well.

You need to learn independence. You have to be independent - it builds character.

I like strong women - not necessarily a masculine woman - but I like strong women...say a woman who runs a C.E.O. corporation. I like a strong woman with confidence - massive confidence - and then I want to dominate her sexually.

Confidence breeds success & success breeds confidence... Confidence applied properly surpasses genius.

My objective was to hurt the other fighters. I wanted to hurt them. I wanted to be merciless. Man, I was a wild thing. It's kind of a drug, a rush.

Basically I don't care what people think of me. I'm not in the communications business.

Everybody's got plans... until they get hit.

I'm a man. I lived it and I'm not afraid to die but when I die I'm going to paradise and I'm not worried.

Boxing brought me money and fame, but it never brought me no happiness.

I like the hip writers: Fitzgerald, the guy who committed suicide, Hemingway, all those guys. Some of them were alcoholics and drug addicts but they had fun. They were real people. They formed the culture of American literature. Hemingway admired Tolstoy, Tolstoy admired Pushkin, and Mailer admired Hemingway. It all flows down. The greats are all connected. One day I'm gonna write a book myself. The first chapter will be about what a rough deal my momma got. She believed in you guys and your society.

I just want to conquer people and their souls.

Any man can do what he has to do. But doing it like you love it? That is what takes it to a whole different level. A champion does it like he loves it, even when he doesn't.

You have to have a bunch of dimensions [of yourself]. You have to be able to adapt in this world. You can't be a nice guy living in a world of savages.

Sarah Palin met the wombshifter! Old Sarah and the wombshifter.

Yes, time flies. And where did it leave you? Old too soon...smart too late.

There's nothing like being young, and happy, and fighting.

Mr. Arthur Ashe, he was good. I read some of his books. He knew about everything, but he was real quiet and didn't talk much. I never met him.