If things had gone differently, the youngest heavyweight champion would have been someone else. Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas first encountered each other when the former was 12, in Cus D’Amato’s gym in Catskills, New York. D’Amato and Atlas trained young Mike for several years, but cracks started to form in their relationship, and Atlas had to part ways with the duo.
The main reason behind their separation was an incident that saw Mike allegedly making inappropriate advances on Atlas’ niece, who was 11 at the time. So, Atlas confronted the then-15-year-old Mike Tyson by putting a gun to his head and threatening him. Forty-two years later, the incident remains the topic of discussion in many circles. During an appearance on Vlad TV, shared on YouTube recently, the reporter brought up the incident, questioning Atlas whether Mike had tried to kill him after the incident.
What Happened after Teddy Atlas pulled a gun on Mike Tyson?
While speaking to Atlas, the host brought up a conversation he had with Michael Jai White, who played Mike’s role in the HBO movie Tyson (1995). According to the host, White told him that White spoke to Atlas during the making of the movie. White revealed after the incident that Mike wasn’t scared, as portrayed in the movie. Instead, he went back to Brooklyn to gather a crew to kill Atlas.
In response to the harrowing revelation, Atlas was left with a lack of words for a while, visibly recollecting what had happened; stumbling through the sentences that seemed difficult to recall now, Atlas claimed, “I’m still here…we know that. I don’t believe in talking about stuff. It wasn’t a show, a TV thing. It wasn’t a freaking…it was to make sure that he understood that I didn’t have to do what I was going to do,” said Atlas.
Caught off guard by the question, Atlas added, “If he felt he had to do that, then you do it. But I’m grateful that it didn’t happen, okay.” Reflecting further on the incident that occurred decades ago, the Staten Island native said, “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter, it’s all freaking BS.” According to Atlas, what does matter now is what did happen rather than what Mike intended to do.
Later in the interview, Atlas confessed he is happy about where Mike is today, hoping Mike is happy. Nearing the end of the clip, Atlas suggested, regardless of what Mike or he did back in the day, “He’s got to live with himself for everything. I gotta live with myself,” said Atlas. The legendary trainer ended the discussion by stating, “I don’t condone what happened. I’m thankful every day that I didn’t have to pull the trigger. I’m thankful to him…thanks for not kill[ing] me,” said Atlas.
As the curtains lifted from the over four-decade-old incident, revealing the tumultuous encounter between Mike and Atlas, the legendary trainer was forced to address the situation. However, the question is–what do you think about the story? How different, do you think, things would have been if both of them had gone ahead with their initial impulses?
