Floyd Patterson Quotations

The fighter loses more than his pride in the fight; he loses part of his future. He's a step closer to the slum he came from.

Fear was absolutely necessary. Without it, I would have been scared to death.

For if you train hard and responsibly your confidence surges to a maximum

I've been knocked down more than any heavyweight champion in history.

What I expect from the police department is an adequate and timely response to keep the streets orderly and safe. Whatever resources they need to do that is up to them,

You get into serious trouble when - during a heated exchange - the mind starts to ask questions about your behavior prior to the fight. That's why many times we see a fighter doing quite well in the ring, hitting the other guy almost at will and suddenly, after a couple of rounds of failing to put his rival down or out, he starts to think about the wrong things he did during training.

It's not so bad for politicians and Pulitzer Prize poets and certain intellectuals in this country to sign petitions and speak out against the war in Vietnam, but when Cassius Clay did it he paid a heavy price for Freedom of Speech.

When you have millions of dollars, you have millions of friends.

Cassius Clay must be beaten and the Black Muslims' scourge removed from boxing.

A prizefighter who gets knocked out or is badly outclassed suffers in a way he will never forget.

Clay is so young and has been misled by the wrong people... He might as well have joined the Ku Klux Klan.

I've learned so much, so very much about myself in defeat. I've learned very little to nothing in victory.

There is so much hate among people, so much contempt inside people who'd like you to think they're moral, that they have to hire prizefighters to do their hating for them. And we do. We get into a ring and act out other people's hates.

I always say that in order to appreciate warm weather, you must experience cold. I wouldn't change one thing - all the embarrassing moments, the defeats, all of everything - through all of this, I have learned me.

It's easy to do anything in victory. It's in defeat that a man reveals himself.

I could never be with a woman during training. Because my knees would get very weak. My opinion is based on personal experience.