“I Wanted to See His Birth Certificate”: Teddy Atlas Recalls Being In Disbelief After Seeing 12-Yo Mike Tyson Hit the Punching Bag for the First Time

Mike Tyson was a prodigy of sorts. After all, one cannot become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time without being gifted. In a podcast discussion with Lex Friedman, Teddy Atlas, a well-regarded boxing analyst and trainer, revealed his first impression of the young Tyson. Atlas, for the formative period of his life, was Iron Mike’s trainer and an assistant to Cus D’Amato.

However, even before he became his trainer, Tyson was already sharp with his punches. Seeing him hit the heavy bag for the first time left him in a state of disbelief. Decades later, Atlas recalls the moment.

Cus D’Amato wanted to “Test” Mike Tyson, reveals Atlas

At the time, Tyson was only 12 years old but an exceptional one. He was 190lbs and was not even that tall. Witnessing this, Atlas was in a state of shock. He could not believe his eyes when he saw a 12-year-old hit the bag with so much ferocity that he knocked it down. So, he decided to check his skills against a seasoned boxer inside a ring. Atlas recalled, “I wanted to see his birth certificate. 190 pounds, 12 years old, and all solid you know, really?”

Since he was an assistant to Cus, Cus decided to put Atlas in charge of vetting Tyson. However, Atlas, who was mesmerized after seeing Tyson knock down the heavy bag, agreed with Cus that they should test the young fighter first. “Cus was right I was a teacher. He was testing me even that day. He said what do you think? Who the freak cares about that he knocked the bag down! We got no one to put him in that way. We gotta test him,” Atlas revealed.

Since they had no one who was as big as Tyson, they decided to put him against, a pro boxer. “Let’s put him in against Bobby Stewart,” Atlas said. It was in the test that the young fighter showed who he really was. “He innately understood what we would want to see, ferociousness, toughness, character, desire, and of course ability well, we saw the ability, power, and speed but it was it was unbridled. It was untaught. It was it was raw,“ remarked Atlas. It was after this that Cus and Atlas decided to take Tyson in.

This revelation from Atlas is of great relevance as he closely trained Tyson for years and the former heavyweight champion even credited him for his success.

The impact of Atlas on Mike Tyson’s career

According to Tyson, the man himself, Atlas played a paramount role in his career. To the extent that, he even claimed that without Atlas, he would not have achieved the feats and accolades he did in his career. Tyson did not mind dealing with his aggression. On his podcast, he stated, “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.”

Read more: “You Got Me Crying in This Motherf**Ker”: Teary-Eyed Mike Tyson Reveals the Moment He Wish His Father-Figure Cus D’Amato Was Alive to Witness

Atlas and Tyson shared a great trainer-boxer bond for years, despite their many differences and quarrels with one another. However, at this point, we are curious to know what you make of the above revelation. Share with us your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

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