One of my major competitors was Harold Smith. Smith beat me in 1977. I was loafing during that competition.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I played Bobby Fischer, my opponent fought against organizations - the television producers and the match organizers. But he never fought against me personally. I lost to Bobby before the match because he was already stronger than I. He won normally.
In the '80 Olympics... people expected me to win. I was good enough to win, and I made a mistake and ended up second, which is pretty good, too.
No one but myself thought I could beat guys like Tommy Hearns or Roberto Duran.
I was very competitive. I hated losing. No matter what, I had to win.
I was a competitive guy growing up.
I don't remember my first race, but I do recall various school sports days where I became way too competitive. We were seven or eight years old, and I had a very stern conversation with my relay team-mates about how crucial it was for us to win.
I had two older brothers, so I was always competing with them. The guys I grew up with on the golf course, when I was 13, they were 15 or 16, and I was always trying to beat them.
I was really competitive with myself.
I always tried to win. I was as competitive as I am today.
I fought a boxer who everybody said I couldn't beat - Sugar Ray Leonard. They said he was faster than me. That he was the best of the best. And I beat him.