Teddy Atlas and Mike Tyson were a dream team when the heavyweight champion was a teenager until a clash over a family member soured everything.
When Tyson was a teenager, Atlas accused him of making advances on his niece. A drama that ended with Atlas pulling a gun on the younger Tyson in 1982.
They never spoke again, and Tyson moved on to a new trainer in, Kevin Rooney, for his world title run. Their silence lasted more than thirty years.
In 2013, as Atlas was working as a commentator, the trainer recalls how Tyson made advances to heal the rift.
Teddy Atlas and Mike Tyson
“It was the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, and we were doing a show up there,” stated Atlas on his podcast. “It was Mike Tyson’s Promotions event, and he was there.
“I was doing the show, and I’m on the air calling the fights. Suddenly my producer says in my ear, ‘Teddy, I don’t want to distract you, but Mike Tyson is behind you. Should I send somebody down?
“So I can’t talk back because I am calling the fight. I keep doing the broadcast.
“So then he (the producer) starts giving me more information. He says he (Mike Tyson) wants to talk to you, and h wants to apologize to you. It’s up to you, do whatever you want.
“So I got up and turned around when there was a break in the round, I think. There he is, and he just said, ‘I’m sorry, I was wrong.’
“It takes a man to do that. I felt that it was sincere. So I thought, ‘if he’s man enough to put his hand out, I have got to be man enough or decent enough to accept it.
“It felt real, and it meant something. I appreciated it.”
Life is short
At the time, Tyson himself spoke to ESPN to explain his move. He said: “Life is short. I made amends with everybody.”
Furthermore, n his Life spiraling out of control at the time, Tyson added: “I’m recovering, and I’m going to die. If I don’t follow my steps, I’m useless.
“I have a lot of pain. I want to heal it. That (speaking to Teddy) was part of it, right there.”
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