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At a certain point, Mike Tyson and I reacted to violence a little differently. I was afraid to leave my house for three years while he became the heavyweight champion of the world. The thing was, at first, we reacted to it the same way, and our cowardice and trauma defined us.

I'm from Detroit. I was from a kind of violent neighbourhood.

I was born in West Baltimore, lived in a situation in which violence was everywhere.

I was a huge Mike Tyson fan growing up; his fights were always on in my house.

I'm just one woman away, my mother, from being the same as Mike Tyson. I would've ended up like him if my mama had not been so tough and strong. A lot of people, including Mike, don't know I came from the ghetto. They think I'm too nice and proper. But that's the way my mama raised me - to look people in the eye and respect them.

Where I'm from, there is no violence, pretty much.

If anything I consider myself non-violent, I'm from the hippy era, peace, love, groovy.

I came from a very poor background. I came from children's homes; I came from a violent family, and against all the odds, I succeeded.

I know some 'thugs,' and they know I'm the furthest thing from a thug. I've fought that my whole life, just coming from where I'm coming from.

I come from a young, hip-hop, urban world.