While searching for quotes by boxing legends, you will often come across Mike Tyson quotes that are motivational, influential, as well as witty, and hilarious at times.
Nicknamed Iron Mike, Mike Tyson is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. In his two-decade-long career from 1985 to 2005, Mike established several records—some of which are still unbroken. He claimed his first heavyweight championship title at the age of 20 and still holds the record as the Youngest Boxer ever to win a heavyweight title.
Mike was known for his ruthless approach inside the boxing ring, due to which Sky Sports described him as “perhaps the most ferocious fighter to step into a professional ring.” Besides his heroics inside the ring, Mike’s career was surrounded by controversies both inside and outside the game. Despite often being criticized for his outspoken nature as well as reckless behavior, the journey of Mike Tyson has been astonishing, to say the least.
Here are the top 50 Mike Tyson Quotes that define the legacy of the legend he was.
Mike Tyson Quotes about Life:
“Anger is your worst enemy in life.”
“At one point, I thought life was about acquiring things. But as I get older, life is totally about losing everything.”
“Everybody you fight is not your enemy and everybody who helps you is not your friend.”
“A man that is friend to everyone is an enemy to himself.”
“Greatness is not guarding yourself from people; greatness is being accepted by the people.”
“Real freedom is having nothing. I was freer when I didn’t have a cent.”
“It’s good to know how to read, but it’s dangerous to know how to read and not know how to interpret what you’re reading.”
“Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s just a cycle.”
“God lets everything happen for a reason. It’s all a learning process and you have to go from one level to another.”
Mike Tyson Inspirational Quotes:
“You never lose until you actually give up.”
“As long as we persevere and endure, we can get anything we want.”
“I am a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars, and if I miss a star then I grab a handful of clouds.”
“You need to learn independence. You have to be independent—it builds character.”
“The only thing I do is just pray for inspiration, for a way of thinking, because I don’t have any particular goal in sight.”
“We all have struggles in life but we have to continue to fight.”
“There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes, just don’t make the same ones. We don’t want to duplicate them.”
“The tempt for greatness is the biggest drug in the world.”
“I had to persevere because this was my life. This championship, this was the stuff I dreamt of all my life, and I wasn’t gonna be denied.”
“That’s what people respect, the fact that I wasn’t a chump that laid on his back and gave up.”
Mike Tyson Quotes on Social Media:
“Social media made you all too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”
Mike Tyson Funny Quotes:
“When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap–people shouldn’t read that stuff.”
“I’m a Muslim, but I think Jesus would have a drink with me. He would be cool. He would talk to me.”
“I’m not Mother Teresa, but I’m not Charles Manson, either.”
“Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.”
“In America, we’re really good at blowing things up but not so good in knowing where the pieces will land.”
“I don’t understand why people would want to get rid of pigeons. They don’t bother no one.”
“Sometimes I put on a ski mask and dress in old clothes, go out on the streets and beg for quarters.”
“You can’t stay married in a situation where you are afraid to go to sleep in case your wife might cut your throat.”
Mike Tyson Quotes on Fear:
“Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning.”
“Fear is your best friend or worst enemy. It’s like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can’t control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you.”
“One must never allow fear to develop and build up without having control over it because if you don’t, you won’t be able to achieve your objective or save your life.”
“I’m scared every time I go into the ring. But it’s how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down to your mouthpiece and say, let’s go.”
“There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear is an illusion. If you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die anyway; it’s not something to fear, fear is not gonna help.”
Mike Tyson Quotes on Success:
“In order to succeed greatly, you have to be prepared to fail greatly. If you can’t do both of them, you’ve got a problem.”
“You stand your ground and you perform your art. That’s what the artist does. The artist is about perfection.
“Every win, regardless a good or bad one, gives you more confidence.”
“I’ll go back and take what people owe me.”
Mike Tyson Quotes on Fighting:
“I could feel his muscle tissues collapse under my force. It’s ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.”
“I just want to do what I do best, and that’s fight, I love it.”
“Fighting is not physical, fighting is spiritual. It’s the determination and the will in the guy.”
“When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him.”
“I try to catch them right on the tip of his nose, because I try to punch the bone into the brain.”
“Fighting is a sport if you’re not humble it’s going to bring humbleness to you.”
“Most fighters are the most humble people in the world because they’ve gotten their ass kicked before.”
“It’s not much for talking. You know what I do. I put guys in body bags when I’m right.”
“I don’t try to intimidate anybody before a fight. That’s nonsense. I intimidate people by hitting them.”
“I am not the same person I was when I bit that guy’s ear off.”
“I was hoping he would get up so I could hit him again and keep him down.”
“I intend to fight and I want to win. But my priorities are basically to be a good brother and a strong one, and to try to be a good father one day.”
“I’m the biggest fighter in the history of the sport. If you don’t believe it, check the cash register.”
This concludes our list of the 50 best Mike Tyson quotes that personify his blunt demeanor as well as the approach to life. Which of these are your favorite Mike Tyson quotes?
Also Read: Pride Quotes to achieve an Optimum Balance in Life
