Skip to content
The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

JRE MMA Show #80 with Evander Holyfield

Joe sits down with former boxer Evander Holyfield, who was the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes.

Joe RoganhostEvander Holyfieldguest
Oct 8, 20191h 11mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:03 – 1:09

    Holyfield’s Japan exhibition plan & tsunami relief motivation

    1. JR

      Boom, and we're live. What's up, champ? How are you?

    2. EH

      I'm great. Now how you doing?

    3. JR

      I'm great, man. It's a pleasure to meet you.

    4. EH

      All right.

    5. JR

      I've been a fan forever.

    6. EH

      Oh, good.

    7. JR

      (laughs) I've seen every single fight you've ever had. So for me, it's a, it's an honor to have you in here, man, as a giant boxing fan. All the way back to Dwight Qawi, saw you fight in the Olympics, saw everything.

    8. EH

      Yeah, you did.

    9. JR

      Everything, man.

    10. EH

      You did.

    11. JR

      Yeah, for real. And, uh, I understand you, you're gonna do an exhibition now.

    12. EH

      Well, yeah, I'm preparing for one, um, you know, uh, you know, me going o- going over to, uh, Japan and being able to go over there and see, uh, the, the typhoon, the whatever that, uh-

    13. JR

      Tsunami?

    14. EH

      ... tsunami.

    15. JR

      Yeah.

    16. EH

      And the point it's sending, so then I'm, uh, going over there and, and helping people. And I figured why not do an exhibition?

    17. JR

      Right. So it's like a benefit for the tsunami victims?

    18. EH

      Yes.

    19. JR

      Um, you look great. You're in great shape still.

    20. EH

      Well, thank you.

    21. JR

      You don't, you never got out of shape.

    22. EH

      Well, you, art of the game.

    23. JR

      Yeah.

    24. EH

      It's, uh, easy to maintain than rebuild.

  2. 1:09 – 3:11

    Exhibition boundaries, opponent ideas, and staying disciplined about head trauma

    1. JR

      Easier to maintain than rebuild, yeah. But, uh, now at your age, like, what, when was the last time you had a fight? It was, like, 2011, is that what it was?

    2. EH

      2000, yeah, 2011.

    3. JR

      So it's been, like, eight years, which is, you were thinking of competing, like, deep into your 50s, though.

    4. EH

      Well, yeah, you, the thing is, is that I'm always trying to stay in shape. But, uh, really didn't wanna get hit again-

    5. JR

      Right, right, right.

    6. EH

      ... like that, but, and that's, but exhibition, I, I, I could do an exhibition.

    7. JR

      Who is the exhibition against?

    8. EH

      I, I don't know yet. Uh, I'm not, um, I'm thinking about, you know, I want it to be Riddick Bowe 'cause me and him buddies.

    9. JR

      (laughs)

    10. EH

      Now, you could do it with somebody you're friends with 'cause-

    11. JR

      Right.

    12. EH

      ... they know that they not gonna hit you too hard if you don't hit them too hard.

    13. JR

      Right, so it'll be more of a sparring-

    14. EH

      Yes.

    15. JR

      ... sort of a deal.

    16. EH

      Yes.

    17. JR

      Now how, how often are you training now?

    18. EH

      Well, you know, I'm, I'm always training. I shadow box. I don't, I don't, I don't hit the bag, but, um, I'm ready to do it now because I'm actually gonna be performing.

    19. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    20. EH

      So I, I wanna, I wanna look good, but, but it, it's, I don't wanna get in a, a doggy, doggy fight.

    21. JR

      Right, you don't wanna get into a war.

    22. EH

      Right.

    23. JR

      You just wanna have, like, a little exhibition sparring match, just a little (claps) just combinations, not hit each other too hard, that kinda deal?

    24. EH

      Well, yeah. You know-

    25. JR

      Yeah.

    26. EH

      And I, I, we hit, we can hit hard to the body.

    27. JR

      Right.

    28. EH

      But not the head.

    29. JR

      Right, right, right. Now at this stage of your life, you know, it's been a while since you competed. Are you worried that those competitive juices might get fired up again?

    30. EH

      Well-

  3. 3:11 – 5:46

    Strength training myths, Tim Hallmark’s program, and ballet for flexibility

    1. JR

      The only four time heavyweight champion of the world ever. I mean, I can remember way back in the day when you were moving up from cruiserweight to heavyweight, you know? And it was one of the rare times where we were watching, back in those days, and folks who don't know, it was k- kinda taboo for boxers to lift weights.

    2. EH

      Yeah, it was.

    3. JR

      And, uh, it was Macky Shilstone that got you ready for that, right?

    4. EH

      No, no-

    5. JR

      No.

    6. EH

      ... it was Tim Hallmark. Yeah, Tim Hallmark and-

    7. JR

      Macky Shilstone got, uh, Spinks ready. That's right, that's right.

    8. EH

      Yeah, Spinks ready, yeah. And, um, I came after that. And, and the point of coming after, uh, Macky Shilstone, everybody thought about the weight, but, uh, Tim Hallmark would talk about flexibilities, all the things you had to do when-

    9. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. EH

      ... you lift weights.

    11. JR

      Right, yeah.

    12. EH

      Yeah.

    13. JR

      Because everybody used to think before that that if you lifted weights, it made you stiff.

    14. EH

      Yeah.

    15. JR

      Yeah.

    16. EH

      And, and, and, and Tim was able to, he did everything with me to show me that that just a myth, you know?

    17. JR

      Right, right.

    18. EH

      And conditioning is about, you know, heart rate and all this. And then, you know, when, when you lift weight, you just got to do more.

    19. JR

      Right. It seemed like back then, the problem was when people would lift weights, they would get sore, and then they would go to the gym and they wouldn't perform as well, and so everybody would say, "Oh, weights are making you stiff."

    20. EH

      They-

    21. JR

      They didn't allow themselves to get through a full program with a real strength and conditioning guy like Tim Hallmark or Macky Shilstone. W- they were the first guys really to bulk guys up. Right?

    22. EH

      Well, and, and it's all about confidence and-

    23. JR

      Yeah.

    24. EH

      ... someone take you to another level, you know? And I think that at, at that time, people just kinda, in this level, this is all we know and this is only as far as we can go 'cause you have to work harder-

    25. JR

      Yeah.

    26. EH

      ... if you gonna, if you lift weight. You gonna have to work harder.

    27. JR

      Right.

    28. EH

      You gotta train, you know. With me, I was able to bring a ballet teacher in there. I did, I had ballet too.

    29. JR

      Did you really?

    30. EH

      Uh, yeah. That's the reason why I was, I was able to stay up, be flexible, and, and being able to be quick and all that. And, you know, I, I did all that. But I ain't let nobody know I would do a ballet.

  4. 5:46 – 9:27

    Riddick Bowe wars and the ‘Fan Man’ parachute incident

    1. JR

      Yeah. Well, you were one of the first, like, supremely conditioned heavyweight boxers. You know, when you'd see, you were sculpted, you know? And you would be able to put that output out for the entire 12 rounds. I mean, you had an, a, those incredible fights with Riddick Bowe. I know you guys are f- friends now, but goddamn, did you guys have some wars.

    2. EH

      Yeah, we had, we had battles. Man, I, and I think the big thing because, you know, he kinda, kinda bully, you know? He, and he a big guy, and he used to always look at me and say, "I...... uh, a good, a good big guy beat a good little guy anytime. And every time we go in there and, and, and practice, I bust him up. 'Cause-

    3. JR

      (laughs)

    4. EH

      ... at the end of it, but you know, I, I was four years older than him, but he was bigger and ... but I would always get him.

    5. JR

      Yeah. Well, you guys had some crazy fights, but the craziest one was probably the one where the guy landed in the middle of the ring. The guy with the parachute, with the w- w- what was that guy's ... What did he call himself?

    6. EH

      The Fan Man.

    7. JR

      Fan-

    8. EH

      (laughs)

    9. JR

      That's right. He had a fan that was powering his parachute, and he literally landed in the ring. That was in an outdoor arena in Vegas. Is that what it was?

    10. EH

      Well, it sure was, in the, uh, eh, the May ... and held the fight up about 30 minutes.

    11. JR

      That was crazy.

    12. EH

      Oh, yeah, 'cause I ... at that time, I had him hurt.

    13. JR

      Yes.

    14. EH

      And like that, and it saved him.

    15. JR

      Yeah. Well, you had him hurt, and then everybody got cold. I mean-

    16. EH

      Right. Yeah.

    17. JR

      ... you cooled off. I mean, it almost seems like they should've canceled the fight.

    18. EH

      Well, you know, it was half way through the fight-

    19. JR

      Yeah.

    20. EH

      ... you know? See that if, if they cancel the fight, then we'll have to pay us again.

    21. JR

      Well, there's a picture up there. Like look at that. What was going through your mind when you saw that guy land on the ropes like that?

    22. EH

      Well, what- what it ... it shocked me and then ... 'cause when he did, the, the lights started like this and, uh, Curtis Mayfield had just got paralyzed with the same thing with the, where the, the thing fell down on him.

    23. JR

      Oh, lights fell on him?

    24. EH

      Yeah, yeah.

    25. JR

      Curtis Mayfield, did he got paralyzed that way?

    26. EH

      Yes.

    27. NA

      Mm-hmm.

    28. JR

      Oh, wow. So you thought maybe the lights were about to fall?

    29. EH

      Well, yeah. And I was trying to make sure that I could make that quick step, get in or get out.

    30. JR

      Right, right, right.

  5. 9:27 – 12:16

    The first Tyson fight: shock, strategy, and proving a ‘good guy’ can dominate

    1. JR

      I mean, look, man, you had, you had some incredible fights, but to me, um, one, one of my fondest memories is ... You know who Kevin James is from The King of Queens?

    2. EH

      Yeah.

    3. JR

      You know that TV show?

    4. EH

      Mm-hmm.

    5. JR

      Me and Kevin James were at my house in Encino the night you fought Tyson. The first one, the first fight when, when you dropped Tyson. I will never forget it because back then ... I mean, we knew that Bu- Buster Douglas had beaten Tyson, but we kind of almost thought it was like a fluke. But when you were battering Tyson and then you put him down and stopped him, I will never forget. Kevin James jumping off the couch, just jumping, "Oh my God!" We're throwing our arms up in the air. I mean, that was, for sure, one of the greatest heavyweight championship victories in the, in the history of the sport. It was just an incredible fight because in a lot of people's eyes, Tyson was like this ... a bad guy. He was like a ... uh, people thought of him as like a thug, you know, and you were thought of as this like really good guy. And m- many people didn't think that you were gonna be able to beat him. So when you didn't just beat him, but you took it to him. You took it to him. You know, like early on in the fight, you could tell that you had decided you were gonna push him around. And you know, once you had stopped him, I mean, it was ... that was pandemonium. In my house, everybody was going crazy. They couldn't believe it.

    6. EH

      Well, you know, I know big- 'cause everybody... you know, you know, I had ... You know, I'm like, you know, I'm a Christian. I, I, I ... But the point of the, the point of the matter, I work hard, I train hard, and you know, my mama said, "Ain't too many things that you do well. So son, you know, which one, which one of these sports you gonna do?" 'Cause I, uh, I used to ... I was a good athlete. I could ... I ... But football and boxing was my two best ones. But you know, I played basketball and I did baseball and I did everything. My mama said, "Ain't enough time in a day to be the best."

    7. JR

      At everything.

    8. EH

      Yeah, that what I'm saying. See?

    9. JR

      Yeah.

    10. EH

      So you gotta pick one. So when I played f- when I played football in 10th grade and they put me on the bench, and I started crying. And my (laughs) mo- my mama said, "You can't quit till the season is over." So I had to play on that ... I played, play on that game. They finally let me play in the championship game and they'd seen how good I was, and they asked me was I coming back next year. I said, "No, sir." He said, "Why?" I said, "My mama say I ain't got to." Like this-

    11. JR

      (laughs)

    12. EH

      ... the man, 'cause my mama told me, "You got to bet on yourself or you gonna bet on the coach."

    13. JR

      Right.

    14. EH

      So in boxing, you're betting on yourself.

    15. JR

      Right.

    16. EH

      In t- in team sport, you're betting on the coach.

    17. JR

      You're betting on the coach, you're betting on the other players, and you're betting on the coach letting you play.

    18. EH

      Right.

    19. JR

      Right. Whereas in boxing, they have to let you fight.

    20. EH

      That's right.

    21. JR

      Yeah.

    22. EH

      And you, you may be asking somebody to tag in for you. (laughs)

  6. 12:16 – 13:31

    Becoming a boxer: early commitment and the legendary 1984 Olympic team

    1. JR

      (laughs) Now, when did you think that boxing was gonna be your career? Was it right after that? Just like around 10th grade?

    2. EH

      Uh, well, well, yeah.

    3. JR

      Yeah?

    4. EH

      You know, uh, uh, after 10th grade, I realized that, you know-... it all came down to one, one sport-

    5. JR

      Yeah.

    6. EH

      ... that I really do real well. And so that when I, I, you know, I just put everything in it.

    7. JR

      Well, you were part of that incredible Olympic team too. I mean, so many great fighters came out of that Olympic team, right?

    8. EH

      Yeah.

    9. JR

      Mark Breeland, Pernell Whitaker-

    10. EH

      Yeah, I can-

    11. JR

      ... Melvin Taylor.

    12. EH

      I can tell you all of them. Paul Gonzales, 106, Steve McCurry-

    13. JR

      Yeah.

    14. EH

      ... 112.

    15. JR

      Yep.

    16. EH

      19, Robert Shannon, 125, Melvin Taylor, 132, Pernell Whitaker, 139, Jerry, Jerry and, and, 147 with Mark Breeland, 156 Frank Tate, 165, Virgil Hill, 78, that's me.

    17. JR

      That's right, Virgil Hill.

    18. EH

      And then, then Henry Tillman-

    19. JR

      (Blows air)

    20. EH

      ... and, and, uh-

    21. JR

      Tyrell Biggs?

    22. EH

      ... Tyrell Biggs.

    23. JR

      What a team?

    24. EH

      Yeah.

    25. JR

      Crazy team.

    26. EH

      Nine gold medal, one silver-

    27. JR

      (Blows air)

    28. EH

      ... one bronze.

    29. JR

      Amazing.

    30. EH

      Yes. Mm-hmm.

  7. 13:31 – 19:25

    Moving from cruiserweight to heavyweight: Tyson as the blueprint

    1. JR

      Yeah. And you, besides, um, Michael Spinks, you were one of the rare guys to move up, to move up and be successful as a heavyweight. Did you just decide, like, after you'd beat Dwight Muhammad Qawi who was a cruiserweight champion, and you'd beat, you know, some real good names at that weight class, you just decided that heavyweight was- was where the real money was at?

    2. EH

      Well n- n- actually, you know, my goal, I wanted to be the heavyweight champ of the world. And, and only person that I knew if Mike Tyson do it, I could do it. So, so when Mike Tyson whooped everybody, you know, t- you know, you know, y- people tend to make up excuses.

    3. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    4. EH

      Now, Mike Tyson is a small person.

    5. JR

      Right.

    6. EH

      He, he, he, I'm talking he, he hit hard but he's, he got short arms.

    7. JR

      Right.

    8. EH

      And so I seen Mike whoop, whipping people that 6'4", 6'5", 6'6".

    9. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. EH

      And they outweigh him by 20, 30 pounds, he beat the daylights out of them.

    11. JR

      Right.

    12. EH

      I figured if Mike could do it, I could do it.

    13. JR

      (laughs) So that gave you inspiration?

    14. EH

      I'm talking, that, that gave me inspiration.

    15. JR

      Yeah.

    16. EH

      My own thing is that, you know, you know, you know, I actually, you know, forged the cruiserweight division, I kind of went through that and watched their next goal is to go up and, you know, and, and I, I chose to do it. And a lot of people said, "Man, you crazy." I, I... Well, you know, you have to be a little of that to be in this anyway.

    17. JR

      Yeah, there's no doubt about that, right?

    18. EH

      Yeah.

    19. JR

      So when you first did fight Mike Tyson, was that like something you had always knew was gonna happen once he got out of jail?

    20. EH

      Well, it was like, it was like this, my mama used to tell me, she said, "Now, let me tell you something about good fighters, you can't wish them away, they ain't never going nowhere, you got to face it." And so you know what... And, you know, and everybody in everything that I'd done, everybody will always remind me, "You didn't beat Mike Tyson though."

    21. JR

      Right.

    22. EH

      And I'm like, "Well, you, you, you're right." And I said, "But it's not like it was my fault."

    23. JR

      Right.

    24. EH

      And I just, I see every time I got ready to fight him, something happened. I said, "But it wasn't my fault." "Well, you, you, you ain't really the champ till you beat him." I, it was amazing that he was so popular, I'm talking especially in my house, I was... You know-

    25. JR

      (laughs)

    26. EH

      ... when people get mad at me, they tell me, "Ah, I can't wait till you fight Mike Tyson." (laughs)

    27. JR

      That's crazy.

    28. EH

      And so the thing is, is that, you know, you know, he was that person that I watched every one of his fight and, and I realized you can't make that min- that many mistake with Mike.

    29. JR

      Right. When you finally did beat him, do you think... When you did fight him and did beat him, do you think that that raised your, y- your celebrity and your notoriety to a different level?

    30. EH

      Not, not really.

  8. 19:25 – 25:33

    The ear bite saga: instinct, prophecy warning, and choosing forgiveness

    1. JR

      Now, once you stopped him in the first fight, the second fight is the fight that's probably the most famous fight 'cause he bit a chunk of your ear off and I saw it when you were coming in here. Show everybody that.

    2. EH

      Well, you know, uh, uh-

    3. JR

      Did you ever think about getting that fixed?

    4. EH

      Well, no. Uh, you know, uh, no, I, that's my identification, dog.

    5. JR

      (laughs)

    6. EH

      If I ain't got my ID, I can show 'em my ear. (laughs)

    7. JR

      (laughs) That is, right, if you want to get into somewhere. Um, do you know who I am? Look at my ear.

    8. EH

      Yeah.

    9. JR

      Yeah. That's crazy, man. That was one of the craziest moments when Mills Lane looked at you when you were jumping up in the air, and looked at Tyson and realized, "Holy shit, he bit a chunk out of your fucking ear."

    10. EH

      Right.

    11. JR

      Like what? What were you thinking at that time?

    12. EH

      Biting him back.

    13. JR

      (laughs)

    14. EH

      I'm, I'm, I'm serious. I was getting ready to bite the daylights out of him and I was going to bite him in the face. I would bite his face. I wasn't going to wait for the ear, I was going to get the fat stuff. You know, 'cause, you know, when you from the ghetto they say, "If you do something, you gotta do it worse than what they did."

    15. JR

      Right.

    16. EH

      And so, you know, and I told Mike in, in a talk show, I said, "No." I said, "No, I, I was pretending like, like I was hurt real bad." I said, "But I was going to trip you up and bite you right in your face." Everybody know what I was going to do. I said, "But, uh, you know, there's this prophet told us before the fight." He told me, he said, "Look, he going to do something in your face area that, but you got to stay focused because if, if you don't stay focused, god, that's the only way he going to get you."

    17. JR

      Right.

    18. EH

      So by him biting me on my ear when, and man, and I knew I was getting ready to bite him back. And, and, and, but my corner person started, started telling me to keep my mind on the Lord.

    19. JR

      Mm.

    20. EH

      And because the, the, the, the, the prophet told me, he say, "Only way he can get you to get your mind, he, he going to do something to you-"

    21. JR

      Right.

    22. EH

      ... "in your face." I thought he going to hit me with a elbow, a headbutt, anything like that.

    23. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    24. EH

      But I never ever thought in my life he would bite me on the ear.

    25. JR

      And bite a chunk of your ear off.

    26. EH

      Oh, and it hurt so bad. And people said, "How bad did it hurt?" I said, "Did you see how high I jumped?" (laughs)

    27. JR

      (laughs)

    28. EH

      I said...

    29. JR

      No, it was crazy.

    30. EH

      Yeah.

  9. 25:33 – 35:26

    Aftermath: meeting Tyson a week later, third-fight talk, and leaving the past behind

    1. JR

      How long did it take after the fight before you forgave him?

    2. EH

      I, uh, it w- by ... It ... I think after about, by the time I, I got into the locker room and everybody started complaining, "Man, I can't believe he did this, this, this, this." I said, "Look," I said, "Did he bite you?" They said, "No." "Oh, okay." I said, "He bit me, right?" And I said, "Now, I'm gonna forgive him, and you know what? Y'all gotta forgive him too."

    3. JR

      Wow.

    4. EH

      They said, "What you mean forgive him?" I said, "He ain't bite you."

    5. JR

      (laughs)

    6. EH

      I said, "He bit me." I said, "Look, I'm gonna forgive him."

    7. JR

      Wow.

    8. EH

      Yeah.

    9. JR

      So you forgave him in the locker room right after-

    10. EH

      Yeah.

    11. JR

      ... the fight?

    12. EH

      Yes. Because the thing is, the thing is I, you know, I was really mad coming, coming down and people throwing water and people mad and they upset because they ain't get a chance to see what they really wanted to see.

    13. JR

      Right.

    14. EH

      Like this. And so they were mad and they were upset. And, and I asked, you know, me, I figured who in control? God. So I said, "Lord, uh, what is this thing all about?" He said, "Forgiveness." Uh, and I said, "Well, who in the world wanna forgive?" But this is what it is, we, we are the two very important people that everybody come to see, and they need to know that forgiveness is a big part of life. And so I was able to do that. So and the point of being able to do that, you know, I, I, I realized that it made my life better all over the world. You got a Kleenex?

    15. JR

      Kleenex? Yeah, sure. That's, that's a very powerful thing, man. It really is.

    16. EH

      Yeah.

    17. JR

      That's a very powerful decision. And, you know, it's a very powerful statement, you know, to, for you to forgive him after that. I mean, that really, uh, that probably did a lot of good for a lot of people to realize, man, if Evander Holyfield can forgive Mike Tyson after he bit a chunk of his ear off, I mean, that's a, that's a strong statement of character right there.

    18. EH

      Well, you know, the thing is I did... Now, a little earlier than that, then they may not would've got that.

    19. JR

      Right. (laughs)

    20. EH

      They would've got something else. (laughs)

    21. JR

      What if you bit his face? (laughs) Yeah.

    22. EH

      But, but, but-

    23. JR

      Yeah.

    24. EH

      ... the, the, the ... It's, it's amazing how what time will do for you.

    25. JR

      Right, right.

    26. EH

      At, at one point in time, I'm talking something, something would've happened.

    27. JR

      Right.

    28. EH

      But because they, they gave me a little time to think about it and gave me ... And, and I was like ... And, you know, and, you know, with me, when, when things, things don't go right, I go back to the prayer and say, "Lord, what is about, all about?"

    29. JR

      Right.

    30. EH

      And he said, "Forgiveness." And, you know, and I'm ... I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for forgiveness.

  10. 35:26 – 39:40

    CBD, health longevity, and Holyfield’s clean living approach

    1. JR

      Well, you're involved in CBD now, right? This is-

    2. EH

      Yes. Yes, I am.

    3. JR

      ... what Resin Sports is?

    4. EH

      Yes.

    5. JR

      This is ... Um, how amazing is CBD? It's incredible, right?

    6. EH

      Well, I- it's a- it's amazing how good it is for your health.

    7. JR

      Yes.

    8. EH

      And so many people have, uh, you know, your kids ... And like y- your kids don't even have to have the problem and some of them come up with these problems. If you then have this, this, this, this, this, this, these, CBD-

    9. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. EH

      ... then your kids wouldn't probably wouldn't be ... wouldn't function as, as properly as they function. That's just amazing they got so much ... this stuff got so much benefit-

    11. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    12. EH

      ... even though if you take advantage of anything, too much anything is not good for you.

    13. JR

      Right, but I mean, I don't think there's any way you can overdose on CBD, right? It's all just-

    14. EH

      Yeah. (laughs)

    15. JR

      ... healthy for you. It's just oils.

    16. EH

      Well, I know it's oil, that it's-

    17. JR

      Yeah.

    18. EH

      ... different things. It's, it's all-

    19. JR

      How much do ... of it do you take a day?

    20. EH

      Who, me?

    21. JR

      Yeah.

    22. EH

      I d- you know, I, I rub it on my leg and stuff-

    23. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    24. EH

      ... like that and I just now found that they got some oral drops that is really good for, you know. I didn't know that.

    25. JR

      Oh, the oral drops? Yeah.

    26. EH

      Yeah, yeah.

    27. JR

      Yeah.

    28. EH

      So that you put it on your tongue and all that.

    29. JR

      Yeah, I love those, yeah.

    30. EH

      Right, that's it. I didn't know that. Now, now that I know that, I'm gonna start taking me some drops.

  11. 39:40 – 43:41

    Training camp structure: three-a-day workouts, recovery focus, and avoiding dependency

    1. JR

      How much ... Like, how many days did you wor- ... Like, f- you'd got your typical boxing workout was sparring, hitting the mitts, and then road work. But you would also do strength and conditioning-

    2. EH

      Yes.

    3. JR

      ... and, like, some serious physical exercise. Like, how did you break up, like, training camp? Like, how many days a week did you spend doing weight lifting type de- stuff and how many days were you doing the other things?

    4. EH

      Well, you know, with the, with the boxing part, you know, I, I do that, you know, five days a week and but ... And the weight lifting three, three times a week. And, but, you know, but I, I only had three workout a day.

    5. JR

      Three?

    6. EH

      Uh, yeah, three workouts, yeah.

    7. JR

      Wow.

    8. EH

      'Cause, you, you got to understand, my conditioning coach was ... He was especially in conditioning.

    9. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. EH

      So we don't ... We ain't gonna do all ... He gonna ... Each and every training, he gonna do a certain thing. What, what ... The most important thing was the boxing.

    11. JR

      Right.

    12. EH

      We get the boxing part out first. Then, then it ... What, what type of run we gonna do? We ain't just, just ... We ain't just run five miles, you know. We gonna sprint sometime ... He would come up with these different, these different methods that, that, that you have three workout a day, but you tired.

    13. JR

      Right.

    14. EH

      But you probably didn't work nothing but 15 minutes, but it ... You're tired. That, that's a tough 15 minutes.

    15. JR

      Right.

    16. EH

      And like, so, so he had these, these, these things that allow me to understand that whenever I get tired, this is when you know how good a shape you into, what you do when you're tired.

    17. JR

      Right, right, right.

    18. EH

      And so, so, so, and so, you know ... So it's a, it's a thinking program more so than, "Oh, I, I tired myself out and, and, and your knees hurt and your ankle and you can't do nothing the next day."

    19. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    20. EH

      You get tired out. That 15 minutes went over, you, you got all this energy. Like that, so it's a ... Everything was about recovering.

    21. JR

      Everything about recovery, right. So you ... He was basically shocking your system with a bunch of different kinds of workouts-

    22. EH

      Sure, yeah.

    23. JR

      ... and then allowing you to recover. And, um, do you think if CBD was around back then, you would've probably used it a lot, huh?

    24. EH

      No, I'm not for sure.

    25. JR

      Yeah.

    26. EH

      I'm, I'm, I'm not for sure because the whole thing with me is understanding what do it do for me?

    27. JR

      Right.

    28. EH

      Now, I'm, you know, I'm not ... I wasn't the type of person that concerned about you. Now, I gotta understand what is gonna happen, what it gonna do for me?

    29. JR

      Right.

    30. EH

      If it makes you do this, but is it gonna make me do this? Let's see if it gonna make me do this, it's gonna make me feel good, it's gonna make me be confident and, and ... Or else I'm gonna have to depend on this the rest of my life if I start.

  12. 43:41 – 1:11:05

    Retirement clarity, legacy lessons, money decisions, and modern heavyweight analysis

    1. JR

      Was it hard for you to retire?

    2. EH

      No. I just want, I just wanted to know that I did the very best. What I didn't want to do, I didn't want to retire, then come back.

    3. JR

      Hmm.

    4. EH

      'Cause you know, I don't, I, I don't... You know, if you do it, advertise, "Do it right."

    5. JR

      Right.

    6. EH

      My mama used to, "Do it right and make... When you stop, make sure it is over."

    7. JR

      Yeah.

    8. EH

      And so, you know, um, and I think, uh, after, after one of my last fight, my last fight, I met the Klitschko brothers and, and I asked them why they didn't wanna fight. They said, "You know, Emanuel Steward told us that, you know, you don't need to fight him." Like this and, and like that. And they, they chose not to fight because Emanuel Steward told them, you know. And but, I had, uh, I guess the, the most positive thing about the whole situation when I was coming back from Russia, I seen, I seen a tape of Ali. And Ali, and Ali when, when he, when he lost against Larry Holmes, he was trying to be four time.

    9. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. EH

      And he said, "Why I ain't just, just, just be happy for three?"

    11. JR

      Right.

    12. EH

      He said, "Why did I have to go four?" When I seen that and I said, "Now, why would I have to be five?"

    13. JR

      Right.

    14. EH

      I said, "I'm on the top."

    15. JR

      Right.

    16. EH

      Why not? I'm the best there'd ever been. I broke Ali's record. Why don't just sit, rest, and be thankful? And, uh, I chose to as 'cause the fact of the matter, records are meant to be broken. Somebody gonna break it eventually.

    17. JR

      Right.

    18. EH

      And long as boxing continue to go, 'cause you looking at, you looking for, uh, to improve, the game to improve.

    19. JR

      That's a, a great attitude that I wish more boxers would have 'cause it's, for fighters, many times the highs of being a champion and winning big championship fights on television under the bright lights, those highs are so high that after they get off and they retire, they just miss it. They miss it so bad. And we've seen everybody, all the greats, from Larry Holmes to Sugar Ray Leonard, uh, uh, all the greats come back. Except Hagler.

    20. EH

      Yeah.

    21. JR

      Hagler never came back. And Andre Ward says he's not gonna come back either. But Hagler to me was one of the most impressive 'cause he just, after that Sugar Ray Leonard fight, he went, (claps) "We're good. I'm done. That's it."

    22. EH

      Well, I'm talkin' about, I'm talkin', you know, I'm there, that, uh, it was amazing-

    23. JR

      Amazing.

    24. EH

      ... because the fact, the fa- the fact is, you know, y- you're cussing to people.

    25. JR

      Yeah.

    26. EH

      You know, you don't have to talk when you're a good fighter. You know that?

    27. JR

      Right.

    28. EH

      'Cause everybody who asked me said, "Why you ain't never said nothing?" I said, "'Cause I ain't have to say nothing. When people look at it, they start talking about how good I am."

    29. JR

      (laughs)

    30. EH

      "So I don't have to say nothing."

Episode duration: 1:11:05

Install uListen for AI-powered chat & search across the full episode — Get Full Transcript

Transcript of episode LyUAzkDdZ9g

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.

iOSAndroidClaudeChrome