Upon awakening in the morning, I wondered if the proceedings of the night before had been a dream. It was hard to believe that I was the world's heavyweight champion.

I did six years of planning to win the championship from Jack Dempsey.

My own ambition in the ring had always been skillful boxing, speed and defense - on the order of Mike Gibbons.

I've seen Dempsey fight and I was impressed with his lack of knowledge.

Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.

Never eat less than four hours before boxing. Then eat only lightly.

Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing.

Ever since boyhood I've made a religion of keeping in shape by regular, conscientious exercise.

A concave chest means that your diaphragm is sagging.

But I do say that, if you will regularly devote 15 minutes a day, preferably before breakfast, for 60 days to the simple set of exercises that I devised for conditioning men in the navy, I guarantee that you will enjoy increased physical buoyancy and mental vigor.

Normally, I could hit hard enough, as anyone who studied my fights might have known. But the impression was that I was essentially defensive, the very reverse of a killer, the prize fighter who read books, even Shakespeare.

A boxer must exercise and develop every part of his body.

The man who has allowed his body to deteriorate cuts a pitiful figure - chest collapsed, stomach protruding.