Some 30 miles away from Albany is Catskill. It’s a place isolated from New York City and that’s the reason a certain Cus D’Amato decided to shift his boxing gym there in 1970. After producing a world champion in Floyd Patterson, he soon trained the man here who would stamp his legacy and immortalize his name, Mike Tyson. There is no wonder this Catskill gym is always in the headlines, often in the documentaries too. So, when ‘Iron Mike’ revisited this gym, after years, a flood of memories hit him.

In the early 80s, the Late D’Amato had picked up a troubled 12-year-old, furious kid, who only knew how to pick fights and was constantly in and out of detention centers. But 7 years would pass by and he would become the world’s youngest world heavyweight champion. Therefore, when Tyson, now 58, visited the gym, he tried to give back to the boxing community, as he kept a close watch on the new generation of boxers.

Tyson, at 50-6, turned to his social media handles and uploaded a clip of him watching young boxers spar at Cus D’Amato’s KO Boxing Gym. He could be heard giving tips to a young George as he watched him spar from the ringside. The former world champion declared, “Stay punching, weave, hook. Come on. You got to stop that s–t. You have to keep moving your head, George. George still doesn’t like to move his head, right? Don’t like moving his head.”

In addition, the ‘Kid Dynamite’ paid tribute to his former trainer, as he gave Tyson Pro gloves to the new crop of fighters at the gym and shared some snaps with them. The tribute-paying caption read, “”A boy comes to me with a spark of interest. I feed the spark and it becomes a flame.” – Cus D’Amato. Honored to keep his legacy burning bright in Catskill.”

Notably, the Catskill Gym was undergoing a revitalization project under Darren Ruff and Kyle Lyles a couple of years back. A visit to the gym must have boosted Tyson’s morale and made him realize why he became a boxer in the first place. All this will certainly help him in his comeback fight against Jake Paul.

Mike Tyson recalls Cus D’Amato’s words ahead of the Jake Paul fight

Tyson shared on his X handle multiple quotes by his legendary late trainer D’Amato and also asked which one of those resonated with the fans the most. One of those read, “Fear is like fire. If you learn to control it, you let it work for you.” Another post’s quote read, “The hero and coward both feel the same thing. But the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs.”

This trip down memory lane might push Tyson and help him feel motivated for his coming fight with Paul on November 15. He last fought against Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match in 2020 and his last professional outing dates back to 2005. Hence, the New York City native might feel ring rust and take time to get back into rhythm. But he is ready to take late D’Amato’s immortal words to his heart and give it all.

What do you make of this heartfelt gesture by Mike Tyson? Let us know in the comments below.