Mike Tyson has always been one of the most feared fighters on the planet, but that wasn’t always the case, the legendary boxer has detailed the moment his fighting life changed forever.
Mike Tyson‘s boxing journey started when he was just 13 years old, and at the time, he was getting involved in petty crime and walking down the wrong path in life.
Whilst at a detention center for young offenders, Tyson was approached by former boxer, Bobby Stewart who saw raw talent in the kid at the time.
Mike Tyson details what Cus D’Amato told him that changed his fighting life
Tyson has always admitted that he wouldn’t wish his life on anyone because at times it has been too much for him to handle, however, when he was introduced to Cus D’Amato by Stewart, his life changed for the better.
D’Amato became a massive inspirational figure in Tyson’s life and even became his legal guardian after welcoming him into his home.
The Italian-American boxing trainer began to train Tyson and began guiding him down the right path, providing him with priceless knowledge about the sport of boxing.
During his early days in the ring, Tyson was considered overweight, and D’Amato was always critical of that. Despite that, in his autobiography, ‘Undisputed Truth’, Tyson has detailed something that Cus told him, that proved to be a life-changing moment.
“Man, I wish you had a body like Mike Weaver or Ken Norton, because then you would be real intimidating. You’d have an ominous aura. They don’t have the temperament but they have the physique of an intimidating man. You could paralyze the other boxers with fear just by the way the way you look,” D’Amato told Tyson.
After admittedly getting choked up by D’Amato’s words, Tyson responded: “Don’t worry, Cus… You watch. One day the whole world is going to be afraid of me. When they mention my name, they’ll sweat blood, Cus.
“That was the day I turned into Iron Mike, I became that guy 100%. Even though I had been winning almost every one of my fights in an exciting fashion, I wasn’t completely emotionally invested in being the savage that Cus wanted me to be. After that talk of being too small, I became that savage.”
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Mike Tyson being backed by heavyweight legend ahead of Jake Paul fight
On November 15, ‘Iron’ Mike will controversially return to professional boxing at 58 years old when he takes on Jake Paul.
The two were scheduled to meet earlier this year, but the fight was postponed when Tyson suffered an ulcer flare up on a flight, resulting in him not being able to train for the fight.
Although he is being written off by many pundits in the combat sports world, one fighter who is backing the feared heavyweight, is Lennox Lewis.
“It’s hard to box when you’re that old, moving around the ring, throwing punches, getting punches thrown at you, but I think he can handle it,” Tyson’s former foe told Sky Sports.
Tyson’s fight against ‘The Problem Child’ takes place from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and it will air live on Netflix.