I was never a weapons person, you're a coward if you have to walk with a weapon, be a man and fight.
Anthony Yarde
I've been listening 50 cent's audiobook, 'The Hustler.'
I don't want to blow my own trumpet but the aim of the game is to hit and not get hit and that is what I am doing.
I used to have a short temper. I still have one and when I lose it, it's bad. I think it comes from what you see when you're young. Sometimes it builds from being scared as well. Once you lose it once, you find comfort in losing your temper. It becomes embedded in you.
I've got a lot of criticism for not taking domestic fights but I've got my own strategy.
In year seven and eight I was very small, but I was muscular. Year nine, ten and eleven I got massive. I was in the gym every day, even at lunchtime and break times. I was thinking about boxing at that time but didn't think I would actually do it.
In a way, and I don't like to use this word, but delusion can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing, but when you genuinely believe in something, if you're putting in the effort to progress, you're going to progress more than someone who doesn't think they can do it.
I've seen people get robbed, seen people get shot with my own eyes, for pointless petty crimes.
I'm a strong believer in destiny. I believe you are born to do certain things.
I could fight for a world title and win it, but it is about getting to that stage and staying there.
I remember being in fights and being tremendously outnumbered and it escalating into something much worse. That's why I laughed when people asked if I was scared of going to Russia. If only they knew about some of the things I've seen.
I was living a dangerous life before I started boxing.
You need to mourn, you need to be upset, to give yourself time to replenish. Then you use it all as fuel to get stronger.
I thought the Mike Tyson story was beautiful and it drew me in. He was bullied, a small kid who started knocking out giants.
Floyd Mayweather said it, perfect boxing career, undefeated, but he says that in life there's balance. He might have the perfect boxing career, but elsewhere there's loss.
Idras Elba was from Forest Gate - where I am from - there are a lot of great people around if they can be given a chance or have the belief.
I believe when you rush your work, you're not thinking about what you're doing. That's when you make mistakes.
Boxing is not a sport where you can be at a low level at all.
Everyone has their own methods, when Muhammad Ali was coming through I am sure people said he leaned back too far, had his chin too high and dropped his hands too low. I am not comparing myself Ali, just showing that people have different methods that work for them.
I believe some things are labelled impossible until they are done.
Stop being childish. Use your time better - better yourself. Read a book, or do a workout exercise on YouTube.
Us fighters thrive on performing and entertaining a crowd.
I saw a lot of bad things happen by people I know and to people I know. There were a lot of different gangs around and sometimes you found yourself in conflict. I found myself attracting negative things because I was in a negative environment, I was pre-determining this stuff before it happened.
It was boxing, but I also feel it was my drive and ambition that kept me away from the stupidness, and my calculation.
People always say 'I will fight for a world title in a year' but that sort of thing is not down to me. I feel my job is to be ready when it comes, I just need to know it is coming.
Nobody has really gone out to Russia to fight somebody like Kovalev. A lot of people are paying attention to it and can't believe what I'm doing. Some people think I'm going to pull out. I've seen comments saying 'Oh this is a good publicity stunt' and I was just laughing. They don't understand.
I wasn't good at football when I was young but I made myself get good at football because of my mentality.
I used to imitate Stone Cold Steve Austin. Identical. I literally made my own waistcoat like Stone Cold, put a little '3:16' I cut out of newspapers for it.
I have been very busy having so many fights since I turned pro. To have 13 in little more than two years is a lot by modern standards.
Even after your fight on the night, you have loads of media you have to do and people expecting stuff from you and you want to make everyone proud. So afterwards I take three or four days off and I just want to eat and eat and eat.
You have to trust in the people you have around you.
I've knocked out a lot of my opponents.
I know there's a lot of opinions about Covid-19 and I have mine but I just know opinions ain't worth risking your life and others. Just stay home.
I study Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr and Sugar Ray Leonard.
When you get a bit older, life can start kicking and it was mainly the area I grew up in that began to lead me astray. I went down the wrong paths to some degree.
I sometimes look on YouTube and see people label videos 'Anthony Yarde sparring his trainer Ade' but that is not sparring, that's just practice. We practice getting attacked, countering and attacking your opponent back, in intelligent ways.
Mark Prince is a massive inspiration to me, he has been since I started boxing.
People talk about world title offers, but boxing is not a sprint, it's a marathon.
I love my chocolate, I love my dessert, I love my cookie dough.
One day guns were pulled on us by older guys. My friend had gone to sell his moped and they took the moped, my friend's phone and some money. But all he got from my pocket was a tub of Vaseline. I remember him saying, 'Oh, he's a sweet boy' and throwing my Vaseline on the floor.
So I was in football, athletics doing shot put and sprinting, and rugby all at the same time. Ultimately, I didn't know how serious you had to take one of them and I was just a kid wanting to do everything at once.
When I was growing up Harlequins were interested in signing me because I was very fast and strong at an early age, but I wasn't interested in rugby at the time.
It's about getting in there and being ready, getting the fight on your terms, taking the least amount of punishment possible.
The Rock is somebody that every kid in my era grew up watching. Legend. His success is not only in wrestling but what he's done after it has been spectacular.
I'm an example of someone that's got a big physique but doesn't touch any weights. I used to, but I realized when I used to touch weights I'd get a lot of soreness and mobility issues, so I'd get up and my shoulder would be hurting, not only the muscle but around the joint.
I train hard, but having a fight on the cards so often gives me targets and focus.
Sparring with southpaws have been different but nothing to worry me.
My dreams are to unify the world light-heavyweight titles like Roy Jones did and then at cruiserweight before then possibly the heavyweight division.
My first boxing experience came at around 14. There was always confrontation in the area I grew up in. My mentality, I'll be honest, was if someone tries it with me, I want to be able to knock them out.
Each fight of my career I take just as important as the last. And I will keep it that way.
