I don't care about the critics. I took a lot of nonsense. I got stuck with silly labels like 'White Hope.' What about other guys like Tex Cobb - they never had those labels?

I am seeing all the guys, like Earnie Shavers, Tex Cobb, and Larry Holmes all the time.

Roberto Duran was the kind of guy who was a true fighter and you hardly see guys like that anymore.

Boxing was a way to express my anger. All of a sudden, I was expressing anger, and I was good at it. I was like a Jekyll and Hyde. Boxing helped me because I was fighting the anger out. I was knocking guys out.

Every Saturday and Sunday, when the other guys were out having a good time at the mall, I was at home working in the garden.

I don't care what you say about me anymore! I don't care what you write about me anymore. I don't care! This is my life. I can't have anybody messing with my life. I just want to be Gerry Cooney, doing what I want to do. I want to be what I am. A fighter.