Can you imagine Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight champion, who is built of pure muscle, being scared of anyone? Neither can we! But there is someone who absolutely petrifies this world champion, who revealed he used to cry before every boxing fight.
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It's none other than his former coach Cus D’Amato. A former mentor to the American athlete, the trainer was the one who took him to the top of the Noble Art, but he was also capable of knocking him down with a few words.
Cus d'Amato and Mike Tyson
In his book Iron Ambition: My Life with Cus d'Amato published in 2017, Mike Tyson went back over his relationship with the legendary coach. And while the two men got along famously, Tyson revealed that his coach didn't hesitate to play with his head. Something that terrified Tyson:
I was petrified when I found myself alone with him. If he called me and said, 'Mike, I need to talk to you,' I knew it wasn't going to go well. It was in those moments that he would give me detailed criticism about my fights.
He added:
People saw the celebratory moments during my big knockout wins, but they didn't see how Cus talked to me in the locker room. He would make me feel like crap, play with my emotions. He could put bad things in my head every day.
The only one who could channel Tyson
Cus D'Amato was introduced to the boxer when he was just 13 years old. As per TalkSport, not only did he become Tyson's trainer but he was also his legal guardian until he died. Mike Tyson says that the coach believed in him and he wouldn't have been where he is without him. He said in an interview with E60 in 2017:
He just met me. I'm a little kid, he says 'You're gonna be the world champion.'
D'Amatos influence was such great that Tyson said his coach was the only one who could reign in his fiery temper.
Unfortunately for Cus D'Amato, he never saw his protégé's career develop to his fullest potential. Indeed, D'Amato died in 1985 from pneumonia on 4 November at the age of 77. Mike Tyson was only 19 years old, and had just begun his professional career. A report from Los Angeles Times stated:
D’Amato most recently was overseeing the career of Michael Tyson, 19, a tough street kid turned heavyweight slugger who has knocked out all 11 of his pro opponents.
The coach never saw the star become world champion with his ‘Peek-a-Boo’ technique.
His death is still one of the things that puts Tyson on the edge. In the same interview, he confided that he still hadn't recovered:
Every time I do an interview about him, I start crying [...]
He then choked up saying,
How did this guy know? How did he know I was the one?
This article is translated from Uppercut MMA.
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Sources used:
Talk Sport: The life-changing moment with trainer Cus D’Amato that transformed Mike Tyson into ‘Iron Mike’
Los Angeles Times: Boxing Manager Cus D’Amato Dies at 77
