There are not many names in boxing who are as popular as Cus D’Amato! Even after his death, most boxing fans are aware of who the man is and that he trained the youngest heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson. He was not just Mike’s trainer; he was like a father to him. Despite all the fame and glory surrounding his life, one rumor has persisted to this day.

Teddy Atlas, a close aide to both Mike and Cus, recently appeared in an interview with Vlad TV, clearing the air about the rumor while opening up about why Cus never married. 

Teddy Atlas believes Cus wanted to have one more champion

During the interview, the host craftily injected a question, asking Atlas about the truth behind Cus D’Amato being gay. Atlas was blindsided by the question; he wasn’t expecting such a controversial topic to be brought up so casually. Having known Cus for a long time, Atlas roared, “I don’t know, nothing, when it comes to, as far as I know, nothing. I know nothing about any of that stuff.”

Atlas went on to elaborate, saying, “All I know is he was a great trainer. He was a great mentor, and like everybody, he was human, and at the end, I think he got tested in those human ways where he wanted to have one more champion… and his whole life was boxing.” Atlas believed that all D’Amato wanted to do was produce one more boxing champion, which he ended up achieving through Mike Tyson. 

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Later in the interview, Atlas even revealed why D’Amato never got married. Repeating what Cus had told him, Atlas recalled Cus telling him, “He said, ‘Teddy, you know why I never got married? I never got married because it would have been unfair…It would have been unfair to a woman and to a child to marry them because my marriage was this: boxing! And I could never be a proper father or husband’, so that’s why he never got married.”

Atlas believed that Cus was so preoccupied with boxing and his legacy in it that he never got around to it. In his pursuit of boxing excellence, the man ended up sacrificing his personal happiness, according to Atlas. The same question was once answered by Mike Tyson about the rumors surrounding his father figure.

What did Mike Tyson say in his book? 

Years after D’Amato’s death, Mike Tyson released his book ‘Iron Ambition: My Life with Cus D’Amato’ in 2017. The book was an amalgamation of all the life and leadership lessons Mike took away from Cus’ training and their time together. However, he also wrote about the rumors surrounding Cus’ sexuality, revealing how the rumors really began.

“If He Told Me to Kill Somebody I would Kill Somebody” – Mike Tyson Reminisces on His Time with Cus D’Amato

According to the Daily Star, James Norris started a smear campaign against Cus D’Amato, and Mike’s book supported the idea. “The Norris-controlled press ganged up on Cus…They started rumors he was gay – he was this, he was that. They did everything to degrade the man,” wrote Mike Tyson. As per what Mike reveals, there was no truth behind the rumors of Cus being gay.

Decades after Cus’ passing, these rumors continue to dog him. So we ask you, what do you think? Does it even matter anymore? Tell us in the comments below.

Watch This Story: Mike Tyson Gets Emotional While John Fury Makes a “Sorry” Confession About Late Cus D’Amato