March 2019, USA
This was an interview on Michael Rapaport’s ‘I am Rapaport Stereo Podcast’
What made [Holmes] more special than anything was the internal fortitude. He was tough as nails. He got knocked down, he’d get back up and he’d fight you to the death. You know what I mean? And he got that from Ali — he was Ali’s sparring partner.
This is the thing about Ali: When we were watching him get beat up as an old man—even when I was a young kid—he’s not going to quit, you’ve got to kill him. He won’t quit. He was getting beat up every round, he had the sh*t kicked out of him by Larry Holmes. Is the champ done? No, come on, let me out. They wouldn’t stop. He had to stand up there and take the beating like a man. He wouldn’t quit.
In that way, I respect the guy so much. I have so much admiration for the guy. So much, but it’s just not right to do that as a human being. Just say, ‘It’s over. I’ll come back another day. It’s over. You got me.’”
“I always like to think I’m a bad motherf**ker. A vicious motherf**ker. I don’t give a f**k, but that’s the part where he, Ali, overshines me, because I can’t understand a man that’s willing to die for this. I talked the sh*t, but he’s the real deal.
[Gets emotional]
Ali is a giant. There’s no way other fighters can match him. He’d die for this sh*t. I’m not going to die for this. That’s real talk. Ali is a savage, he’s an animal. He’s a different breed of person. He’s not like us.