Top 44 Jake LaMotta Quotes

My nose was broken six times, my hands six times, a few fractured ribs. Fifty stitches over my eyes. But the only place I got hurt was out of the ring.

Most people aren’t good or bad. They’re naive.

I lost a lot of money, lost my wife and kids.

There’s a lot of people all over the world that talked about me.

Whenever I did have a lot of money, I got in trouble.

Counting amateur fights, I have over a thousand bouts.

God’s been pretty good to me. He made me duck all those punches that were supposed to land.

The world knows me as the Raging Bull.

When I was a kid, I wanted to fight Joe Louis. But I think if I had seen Mike Tyson at that time, I would have said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to fight him.’ He’s deadly. He could have been one of the great heavyweight champions. But he goofed.

I had such a crazy life. How I got away with it, I don’t know.

Besides being a slum kid with no great education in anything except how to fight and stay alive and steal, I also had this temper.

I been in jail twice. The first time was reform school: they got me for carrying burglar’s tools, something like that. The morals charge was a frame-up.

I used to psyche myself out. Only, back then, we didn’t know the word ‘psyche.’

Something’s bound to happen to you in a tough fight: cut eye, broken nose or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you’re a champ or you’re a contender.

There was only one thing I wanted out of life. That was to be the champ.

I wanted to get punished, and I took unnecessary punishment when I was fighting.

I was a no-good bastard.

I was able to convince my body that I could take it and nobody could hurt me. I might’ve gotten cut, stitches over my eyes. Broken nose. Broken hands. But I never really got hurt.

I was tough at a very young age, where I was just fighting all the time.

I made a million, and I lost a million.

Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest, pound-for-pound, ever. He fought most of his career with just one loss, and that was to me. He had 131 fights with one loss.

All my life I made a living out of hurting people. Now, I make a living out of making people laugh.

If I got a beating for something, I usually deserved it.

There’s no pensions for old prize fighters.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.

Lot of guys can take punches. The idea is not to take unnecessary punishment.

Most of the time, husbands and wives argue about stupid, foolish things. If it doesn’t mean that much to you, give in to your wife.

Subconsciously – I didn’t know it then, I realize it today when I know a little bit more about the mind and the brain – I fought like I didn’t deserve to live.

I fought in Detroit 23 times.

I forget stuff. Guess I took a few too many punches.

I’ve learned a lot about life besides how to take a punch. And I’ve taken quite a few in and out of the ring.

Fear is unnecessary.

I guess God blessed me with a hard head, because I really didn’t feel punches.

I’m the Godfather of Boxing. Everything is out in the open with me. What you see is what you get.

I fought Sugar Ray Robinson so many times, it’s a wonder I don’t have diabetes.

The three toughest fighters I fought were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Sugar Ray Robinson.

I always needed money when I was younger. I had different ways of getting it. A lot of the ways I don’t like to talk about.

I fought from the time I was eight years old, sometimes three, four fights a night. We did it to eat, and we did it because we were just tough kids.

Everybody has a temper, but mine was set on a hair trigger.

I wasn’t born to be a fighter. My hands are too small, and look at these short arms.

I purposely lost a fight to Billy Fox because they promised me that I would get a shot to fight for the title if I did.

You have to treat everybody the right way. Otherwise, you’ll have a short life. God bless.

I ask for personal appearance fees because I’ve earned them. I deserve them. My presence at events is what they need, so they ought to pay for it.

I fought Sugar Ray six times. Pound for pound the greatest fighter who ever lived.