I appreciate what I've achieved, and nearly all of that is because of my dad. He pushed me to train harder than I would have done if he wasn't there to discipline me.

I was born in London but brought up in Wales from the age of two.

I remember every defeat I suffered as an amateur. They were rare enough to be burned into my brain, and that's why I can't bear the thought of losing.

If you know you're just fighting for the money and you're not fighting for the championship, you're going to lose, so I thought, 'It's time for me to quit.'

Promoting is a no-no - that's hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don't have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I'll be good at.

I'm close to achieving something that very few boxers ever have - and that is to retire undefeated, like Rocky Marciano.

Why am I not a household name in Britain? Why have I not got the recognition I deserve after so long? I think the fact that none of my fights are seen on terrestrial television is significant but, other than that, I don't exactly know. I really don't.

When I was 14, I told my careers adviser that I was going to be a world champion boxer. Of course she laughed.

You think that after becoming world champion, you're going to be a massive superstar with lots of lucrative bouts against great fighters, but that never materialised for me.

I'm a boxer, and every fight could be my last. You just have to remember Michael Watson to know what boxing can do to you.

You have to try things in life.

My first boxing memory is watching Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard on television.

Test match cricket - it's the most boring thing to watch. How they call themselves sportsmen I'll never know.

I prayed before fights. Especially just before I got in to the ring. But I'd also have my iPod on, Prodigy and Linkin Park ripping through my ears.

You can never say never in this game, but I can't see myself boxing again. There's loads of things I want to do.

I'm proud to be one of only a few fighters in history to retire undefeated.

I believe amateur boxing training should be available in schools. Not for all, but for those who want to.

I've beaten all contenders for 11 years. I'm not a robot; I'm fed up. My body's tired of it. I'm 36.

Boxing's a very lonely sport. That ring is the loneliest place in the world.

I'm a regular guy, got the same friends. I live in the same area of south Wales. That's who I am. I'm just a normal guy. I just fight.

I've been through the routine so many times that I genuinely don't even think about a big fight very much beforehand.

My dad is a great judge of fights. He's the only person I know who said that Holyfield would beat Tyson the first time.

I swore to myself that I was never going to lose again, and that's what drives me still. More than money, more than titles, more than fame, it's the desire not to be defeated.

The perfect fighter has never been born and never will be.

I'm actually thinking about acting lessons. If somebody says to me, 'You can be in the movies,' I'd be pretty happy.

Enzo, my dad, supports Juventus, so that's my team and, obviously, Italy, who I've been fortunate enough to see win two World Cups.

From 13 years old, I was treated like a professional.

I think we have a normal father-and-son relationship. But like any other relationship, we have our differences. But we always seem to work out our differences. Believe it or not, our personalities are similar. We're both fiery and passionate.

I'm not going to lie: you do get down sometimes, but I wouldn't say I was ever depressed; that's too hard a word. But you do become bored, because all you've done in your life is fight and box.

Being retired is one thing, but staying retired is another. Even when I announced my retirement, I'm sure people thought I was going to come back.

After a weigh-in, you drink and put on the pounds. But it's just fluid, not muscle, so you get in the ring and feel flat.

I've never wanted fame. I've only ever wanted recognition.

It used to hurt me when people said I was hiding in Wales.

At 14, 15, everyone at school stopped talking to me, and I went completely into my shell. Basically, I'd be hiding. I had no friends. I hated it.

In America, they slag each other off at the press conference, then get in the ring and don't do anything.

The world title in a second weight division and a win in America is just the icing on the cake of my career.

When you've been at the top of the sport for so many years, it's your life, and it becomes very difficult just to quit boxing and find something else to be happy.

I've fought in Copenhagen before, and it's not the most hostile place in the world.

I am not an aggressive person. I am a disciplined, chilled, and relaxed guy.

On a personal level, I probably wouldn't want my boys to box professionally. But I do encourage them to get into boxing training - they both go along. It keeps them fit.

When I go into the ring, I don't hate opponents, and I certainly don't want to hurt them.

To win the four major title belts, to be the unbeaten champion and 10 years a champion - it's amazing. I'm so proud.

Beating Chris Eubank in 1997 was a great win and the toughest fight of my life, and beating Jeff Lacy was great, too. But Mikkel Kessler topped it, winning all the belts and fighting in front of all those fans in my home town.

There is a world of difference between being a reality TV star and a world champion boxer.

There comes a time in any proud sportsman's career when you have to make the difficult decision to stop.

I don't really watch much boxing.

There were times people tried to get me to change trainers, but I stuck with my dad.

I want to prove that I'm not just the best super middleweight in the world but the best pound-for-pound.

You ask all the super-middleweights: Who is the best fighter in Britain? If I came back, it would be me.

It's unbelievable when I think back to when I was a kid that one day I would have achieved so much through boxing, and to think my teachers laughed at me when I said I was going to be a boxer.