Did Teddy Atlas really threaten Mike Tyson?

Question

and Mike backed off? Or was that some sort of joke someone posted on here?

Answer 1

The biggest mistake Teddy Atlas made was not finishing the job.....WHY TEDDY WHY.

An animal like Tyson needs to be treated like an animal. There is no other way of dealing with these kinds of people. They are too much of a danger to let live in society.

Sometimes you have to put an animal down for its own good and other people's safety and thats what Teddy should have done.

Answer 2

I second everything galactus just said.  There's a video clip of Cus "training" Tyson about how bad women are, and how they can't be trusted.  Disturbing stuff, and I often wonder if the seed of Tyson's misogynistic behavior was planted by Cus.

Answer 3

I heard that he did and for good reason.

Answer 4

according to the 1995 film "tyson" starring michael jay white, it is true that atlas put a gun to tyson's head and told him to stay away from his family.

Answer 5

I've spoken to people who were close to the original "Camp Tyson".  It's commonly known that Cus was very lenient with Mike when it came to the rules.  For all his wisdom, Cus never learned one valuable lesson.  Sometimes you can take the boy out of the ghetto but you can't take the ''ghetto'' out of the boy.

By the time Mike met Cus he had already developed his anti-social attitude towards women.  It has proven to be Mike's greatest down fall.  You just can't treat women the way Mike has become used to doing,  The Washington case aside, which IMO, Mike was railroaded.  He should have been smart enough to avoid that.  

Legend has it that Atlas had a niece who lived with Cus.  Mike once fondled the girl who asked him not to do it.  Because Cus didn't held Mike accountable for his behavior, he figured he could do as he pleased and the rules didn't apply to him.   Atlas and Cus argued many times over the issue of Tyson's behavior, which also spilled over in school with other girls.  

Atlas was just a member of the camp, not a "big brother" type.  Though he often over-plays the ''tought guy'' routine, he meant well in his attempt to ensure that Mike lived by the same rules the other kids lived by.  But Cus saw something special in Mike and had a personal affection for him.  

While I agree with Atlas, that Tyson's behavior should have been kept in check, I can understand Cus' point of view.  I dont agree with it, however.  There might have been other ways Atlas could have handled the situation.  He tried too hard to force Tyson to follow the rules, often going out of his way to ensure even the smallest details, such as bedtime and other minor issues.  

This created a personal rift between Atlas and Mike.  Mike often hid behind the fact that Cus, not Atlas, had the final say.  This infuriated Atlas who became obsessed with making sure Mike followed the rules.  When Mike went too far, in fondling Atlas' niece, Teddy went over the edge and confronted Mike with a gun.  While I understand his feeling I could see the flaw in his method.  I think his intention was to scare Mike.  It's not a good idea to point a gun unless you intend to use it, which I dont think Teddy intended to.  

Still, I can also understand Atlas' frustration with Mike's refusal to respect the fact that his niece didn't want to be fondled.  Perhaps he ran out of ways to make Mike understand that he just can't go around putting his hands on women if they don't want to be touched.  

It's a real shame because, if not for the personal issues, Atlas might well have been a much better trainer for Mike than Kevin was.    The problem is that Kevin and Mike had more in common with each other than did Mike and Teddy.  Both Mike and Kevin are irresponsible and self destructive while Atlas lives a more organized life.  He and Mike would not have been a good personal mix.  Atlas is far too much "by the book" for Mike while Kevin is more likely to "Bend rules" here and there, not just with training but with life.

Answer 6

Oh Yeah, with a gun, Atlas mentioned it in his book.