My father took my mother, me, and my brother from Sicily to New York. He got us one-way tickets but booked himself a return flight. He dumped us with my mother's parents, who had just arrived from Italy, and abandoned us. That was 1986. I didn't see or speak to him for another 12 years. That's cruel.
Ricky Hatton has no sense of anticipation of what's coming his way. You can teach him all you want, but he doesn't have those instincts.
Everyone knows I love my fans. I wouldn't change them for the world. They have been by my side and haven't left me even when times have been tough. I try to chat with all my fans on Twitter.
You get the reality checks during the course of your adult life and your career, and you realize that as good as the money in boxing is, most of the time people most don't make Ray Leonard or Oscar De La Hoya money, even if you make very good money.
I don't really have the desire, as far as love of the game. It's more about the paycheck I can make.
If I know my showboating bothers you, I'll keep doing it. If playing with your mind is part of the arsenal, and I know it works, then I'm going to continue doing it.
I'm not complaining. I've made a very good living from boxing, better than any living I possibly could have done. Having said that, you don't live the rest of your life off the money you make in boxing. You still have to create positive forms of income.
At training camp, you brainwash yourself into thinking every,day is the same, no weekends or holidays. It's all the same - a work day. You develop a mental state to just work hard and get ready for the fight.
In fights when I've had the odds stacked against me, I definitely perform better because it's like a challenge to me - and I always like a challenge.