Quote

I was always into martial arts and boxing.

I didn't make the most of school, but boxing has given me discipline.

Boxing gave me a path in life. Because of boxing, I learned what I'm capable of achieving if I put my mind to it and how hard work can and will pay off in the end. It gave me confidence and taught me to face fear straight on and dig down deep when times get tough.

The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That's the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school, we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet.

I see the beauty in boxing. It teaches me strength physically, but mostly mentally. I had to learn my strength, because for so long I could have been tougher than I was.

I started taekwondo at 5 or 6 years old and did a bunch of kick-boxing later, too. Eventually I became a black belt and coached as well. I did some basketball and softball growing up, but most of my activity was martial arts.

I discovered martial arts, first judo and then karate, and I became quite good at it, because I had something to prove. And more than anything, I needed to feel safe.

When I was 15 years old, I left school and became a professional boxer.

I grew up in Westlake Villiage, a suburb of L.A. There was a guy there who was a fighter and was like, 'I'll teach you to box.' I started a little bit of boxing, then it crossed over into jiu-jitsu. I was into it for a little while, but then I started doing basketball, baseball, team sports.

I've been learning martial arts since I was 8 years old.