“He’d been arrested 30 times!” Teddy Atlas reveals bone-chilling story of 12-year-old Mike Tyson arriving with police protection to boxing gym
Mike Tyson's former trainer, Teddy Atlas, shared the first time Mike Tyson entered a boxing gym after being arrested 30 times.
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Teddy Atlas and Mike Tyson (image credit- Marca, The Sun)
Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in the sport at the age of 20. Furthermore, Tyson was always meant to achieve things and was genetically blessed from an early age. In addition, Teddy Atlas, Tyson’s former trainer, recently recounted the first time Tyson entered a boxing gym.
Tyson had a very turbulent childhood since he was from Brownsville. He frequently got into trouble and was arrested. In an interview with Vlad TV, Atlas spoke about how he would recruit 10–40 kids, and they would go on to win several tournaments. The gym was successful due to this recruitment drive. Subsequently, while recounting his first encounter with Mike Tyson, Atlas stated:
He didn’t have anything. He’d been arrested 30 times already. There was nothing to go back to, and you could recognize there was urgency.Teddy Atlas via VLAD TV
Atlas mentioned how he got a call from his close friend from juvenile detention about a 12-year-old 190-pound muscle boy. Furthermore, Atlas and Cus D’Amato wanted to see the kid, so Tyson arrived at the gym in a police van from the juvenile detention center.
Tyson was about to spar with a 27-year-old pro boxer in his first sparring match, and Atlas called it an audition for his life. Atlas also mentioned that Tyson had nothing to return to after being arrested 30 times and knew this was a potential opportunity to improve his life.
Teddy Atlas shares lessons learnt from Cus D’Amato
Growing up in a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood in Brownsville, NY, ‘Iron Mike’ was raised by a rough-and-tumble family. Subsequently, this shaped him into a hardened individual who sometimes allowed his temper to get the better of him.
One such incident was when Tyson touched Atlas’s niece inappropriately. This prompted the legendary trainer to put a pistol at the young boxer’s head. After the incident, Atlas was quickly banned from the gym and fell out with Tyson and D’Amato. In a recent interview on the ‘Lex Fridman podcast,’ Atlas talked about the lessons he learned from D’Amato. Atlas stated that he initially didn’t believe in anything that D’Amato said.
However, as Atlas matured, he relearned the deeper meaning of D’Amato’s words. Furthermore, Atlas spoke about the lessons about loyalty and looking past an individual weakness he learned from D’Amato. Cus D’Amato was a great influence on both Tyson and Atlas. The duo continues to speak highly of D’Amato even after all these years.
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Abhijay Roy
(551 Articles Published)