“I Was Shocked I Had Some Character”: Teddy Atlas Relives How Cus D’Amato Changed His Life in Emotional Confession

There are not even a handful of people who can say they have trained someone as great as Mike Tyson. However, Teddy Atlas can. The man is perhaps one of the, if not the greatest trainers. While his relationship with the youngest heavyweight champion might have come to an abrupt ending, his legacy runs through time. Like Tyson, Atlas also had a rough childhood. It was Cus D’Amato who rescued him from it.

Atlas’s growth from being a criminal messing around to training world champions was not a miracle. Atlas joined the Catskill boxing club under the legendary trainer. From there on, his life went a different way. In a recent interview on Vlad TV, Atlas talked about why and how he made his way up to the Catskills. Was it all just luck?

Teddy Atlas recalls the time when he was a ‘mess’

In the interview, Atlas talked of his early life growing up with another legendary trainer of ‘Iron Mike’, Kevin Rooney. While Rooney managed to win New York’s Golden Gloves, Atlas could not find as much success in boxing. Rooney made his way up to Catskill to train under Cus, while Atlas made his way into prison.

Atlas talked about his life at the time, revealing, “I got out on bail and I was facing you know what I should be facing for what I did right and I was facing like whatever 10 years, and because the way I was living my life which wasn’t good and getting into fights, and you know, I was doing a lot of street fights and just again being a mess.”

Atlas recalled how Rooney wanted him to make his way to Catskill as well, in an attempt to save his life. Rooney talked to Cus, who proceeded to look into Atlas’ case and ended up accepting him. Atlas appreciated D’Amato for this and said, “Cus was a big guy not on physical talent but your talent inside as far as character and he felt which I was kind of shocked that I had some character because I didn’t think I had much character with the things I was doing.”

Cus was one of the first to find “character” in Atlas when even he did not believe in himself. This isn’t the first time Atlas has given the legendary trainer the credit for helping him become a better person. He previously spoke about Cus helping him find himself in another interview as well.

How did Cus D’Amato help Teddy Atlas become a better person?

Teddy Atlas recounted a difficult episode involving Mike Tyson during a podcast interview. Allegedly, Atlas confronted Tyson with a gun after the young boxer had sexually harassed an 11-year-old girl from Atlas’s family. Despite the severity of the incident, Cus D’Amato, their mutual mentor, asked Atlas to leave the Catskill Boxing Club. This marked a significant betrayal for Atlas, who had a longstanding relationship with D’Amato. 

Read More: “He Gave Me More Than Money”: Teddy Atlas Reveals How Cus D’Amato Inspired Him to Be a Better Trainer

Despite their disagreements, Atlas acknowledged D’Amato’s passion for teaching boxing as more than just a sport but as a means to instill purpose, morals, and integrity in the lives of boxers. Despite the turmoil, Atlas respected D’Amato’s belief in boxing’s transformative power beyond the physical aspects, emphasizing the importance of character in becoming a champion. “He believed that to be a champion you had to be special, you had to be you had to have character, you had to be a better person,” recalled Atlas. These are the same ideals that Cus helped instill in Atlas, something he carries with him to this day.

With how Teddy Atlas moved his way up from a life of crime to a life of training legendary boxers, do you believe he is the greatest trainer of all time? Do let us know in the comments below.

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