Mike Tyson Names Trainer Who Made Him One Of All-Time Greats

Mike Tyson has named the trainer who made him the legendary boxer he is today.

As Tyson prepares for his highly anticipated boxing return, it seems like he’s also become open to addressing some of the issues from his past. One of which, is his long-standing beef with former trainer Teddy Atlas.

During his amateur days, Tyson trained by Atlas. And while “Iron Mike’ revealed that it was his late mentor Cus D’Amato who made him a menacing person in and outside the ring, he recently revealed that it was Atlas who made him one of the best boxers of all time.

In a recent episode of his own podcast “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” (via Boxing News and Views), the 53-year-old addressed his conflict with his former trainer. Surprisingly, Tyson said that he loves Atlas and he doesn’t care even if the renowned trainer is still mad at him even to this day.

“I don’t know. I love Teddy. Yeah. I don’t care how mad he gets because if it wasn’t for Teddy I wouldn’t be who I am basically. I can’t get angry at him,” Tyson revealed.

Reports claimed that a dispute between the pair has forced D’Amato to remove Atlas from the young Tyson’s team. Since then, the beef between Atlas and Tyson have been publicly known and it took several years before both men get to candidly discuss their past.

In an appearance on “Joe Rogan Experience” in 2018, Atlas revealed Tyson’s real weaknesses as an athlete and as a person. The veteran trainer said that as a kid, Tyson was exceptionally powerful. However, the young Tyson was “mentally weak” and had “residual stuff from his upbringing.” Atlas then described how a 12-year-old Tyson behaved. And based on his recollection, Tyson was actually “hiding between walls” just to avoid getting bullied.

“He used to hide in between abandoned building walls in Brownsville, it was a rough place. He used to hide between walls to not get picked on,” Atlas revealed.

Atlas continued by emphasizing that despite imposing a fearsome aura, Tyson was in fact weak as a person.

“He was as strong a guy as you’re ever gonna see, but he was as weak of a person as you’re ever gonna find,” he added.

Tyson is currently preparing for an epic comeback. As early as now, many are already convinced that “The Baddest Man on the Planet” still got it.