ROCKY JOHNSON

They call Florida the wrestling graveyard because it's where we all end up. The weather is easier on us here.

Back when I was competing I had a lot of fans wanting my autograph, wanting to take my picture, but nothing like what my son is dealing with.

When I first got started I had no idea my career would last as long as it did.

A good promoter is one that treats you with respect and as a human being.

I was headstrong.

I was partners with Mil Mascaras and we were champions for about a year. We got over good because we had two different styles. The people respected his style when he was in the ring and when I came in they respected mine.

I'm glad my son doesn't have to be labeled black or Samoan or mixed. He has instead been labeled as the best.

The system in which I came up in was that every territory had to have a black, a white... if you went to Texas you had to have somebody that was a cowboy or one that was from Mexico. There wasn't that many Afro Americans in the business at the time so I moved around a lot. But every time I moved around, I made money.

I worked for promoters that I couldn't stand and they couldn't stand me. But they knew if they put my name out there, I would sell out for them.

A lot of wrestlers put on 30 to 40 pounds after they finish wrestling. Some have heart attacks because of the weight. I made working out my hobby.

I worked with guys in Japan that were champions and they came over here for six months or a year and they treated them like garbage.

I kept myself in shape, and the stuff they were doing in the South, I wouldn't go for. They wanted to whip me on TV, like they used to do with the slaves and all that. I said, 'No. I came in as an athlete, and I'll leave as an athlete.' And they respected me for that.

Georgia is too cold and wet for me. I have knee problems and hip problems.

I like to think I proved a wrestler's skin color doesn't matter.

My dad was a big man - six-foot-seven and 300 pounds - and very strong.

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion, so I took part of his name. I admired Rocky Marciano, so I took part of his name.

I wasn't an Uncle Tom and I never was gonna be.

I accomplished a lot, but my son has taken it to another level.

I had my own mind made up in that I was going to do my own thing. I wasn't going to copy from this guy or that guy.

I am proud of my family.

I've got more soul than I can control.

I cant remember the last time I went in the ring feeling whole. The pain is something you learn to live with. Some guys don't and they don't last.

When you drop-kick someone you have maybe a second's time to jump into the air, hit your opponent directly with both feet and then land without getting hurt. If you lose your balance in the air, though, you'll wind up with cracked ribs and bruised kidneys.

I met Muhammad Ali in Toronto when he was still Cassius Clay... We got to talking and it was like we knew each other for 50 years. We just clicked.

I broke my neck.