why hasnt tyson ever mentioned rooney?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by London, Nov 5, 2015.


  1. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

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    All Rooney did was carry a towel and wipe Tyson down. Mike was great because at that time he loved the sport and absorbed everything Cu had spewed over the years. Rooney reguritateded Cus`s program but when somebody wants to self destruct your not gonna stop them. If Rooney had been in Tyson`s corner in Toyko same result.
     
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  2. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Their split was pretty bad. Rooney isn't a person to hold his tongue and was very critical of Tyson's lifestyle outside the ring including his relationship with Givens. Tyson on the other hand even before King came into the picture was already thinking of replacing Rooney due to Rooney's drinking problem and temper. When Rooney sued Tyson for breaking their agreement Tyson paid him some money and that seemed to be the end of any kind of positive relationship between them. It seems Tyson prefers to say nothing than say anything negative about Rooney.
     
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  3. sauhund II

    sauhund II Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Rooney was /is a alkie with a big mouth but him and Tyson gelled plus Rooney wanted Tyson to be a fighter not a party animal....after Spinks Mike pretty much stopped doing road work and that was the beginning of the end......Rooney kicked Tyson butt out of bed and tried to discipline him but Tyson was already in no mas mode after Spinks.

    If Rooney would have practiced what he preached, but he did not, Tyson most likely would have respected him and their relationship would have continued......but Rooney was a loose cannon with a serious Alcohol problem and if I remember correctly multiple DUI's but I could be wrong here.

    Anyway, when Tyson was in the Can Rooney tried several times to visit him and tried to reach Tyson by phone but Tyson always declined.
     
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  4. Alphafighter

    Alphafighter Active Member banned Full Member

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    Dont agree with this. Rooney would never let Tyson go into the ring unprepared and without being in excellent condition.
     
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  5. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    Perhaps one of them will pick up the phone one day, and perhaps they won't.

    I personally hope that it happens.
     
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  6. Alphafighter

    Alphafighter Active Member banned Full Member

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    To be honest i wonder if Tyson's in ring display would have been the same if lets he continued to live life outside the ring as he was destined too with his wild partying and personal life troubles but if he continued training with Rooney practicing those skills and doing the bare minimum roadwork like he used too. It is without question that his skills just declined drastically post Rooney. You need to remember Tyson was partying and had personal life issues even with his catskill team around, even in interviews he mentions he had been drinking and doing drugs like weed, cocaine even before boxing but his team at the time still managed to get the best out of him inspite of all these issues.

    Tyson's post rooney trainers were not all necessary bad trainers, they all mostly complained that Tyson cut too many corners and stopped practicing the skills as passionately or relentlessly as he did in the past. Also it didn't help that these trainers didn't know the Dmato system as well.

    Rooney knew what instructions to give to Tyson in the corner between rounds, how to keep him calm and composed. To be honest i think Rooney should have just kept his mouth shut and just stuck to his job professionally like the vast majority of trainers do where they just work with the fighter in the gym, in the ring and stay out of their personal lives. Tyson when he initially sacked Rooney only intended to do so for the Bruno fight in order to give him a warning to stop commenting on his private life in the media and wast planning to reinstate him afterwards. Even Camille Ewald had begged Rooney not to sue Tyson knowing full well there would be no return after wards.
     
  7. Alphafighter

    Alphafighter Active Member banned Full Member

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    Too late for that now. Rooney is more or less brain dead now, i don't think he is in a position to train anyone anymore.
     
  8. Alphafighter

    Alphafighter Active Member banned Full Member

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    To be honest it will be dishonest or ignorant to blame all of Tyson's problems on Don King alone, they just enabled him to do whatever he wanted. At times they begged him to train properly for certain fights but he insisted on not training properly for them. Tyson was as equally reckless with his money and lifestyle as they leeched him. But i don't think he was lying when talking about bringing back Rooney, it was the popular demand of the time and they would have tried giving it a shot.
     
  9. The Morlocks

    The Morlocks Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Always thought Rooney and damato were full of ****. Cus had Patterson and ducked every real fighter in sight. He wanted nothing to do with Sonny Liston and dogged him. Then he is brought Tyson and allows the lttle terror to do whatever he wanted because as Cus said " I finally found my Sonny LISTON!". Hypocrite! He ruined Torres by not allowing him to fight the top middleweight s and Torres finally had to move up to get a title shot.
    Besides those 2, bad managed and neither great in my opinion, what else did cus do to be a "great trainer"? He sure didn't instill backbone in Mike. Actually he instilled all the fear of failure that made Tyson so freaked out by rough days.
    For me, you can take Rooney damat and put overbearing one fighter success loudmouth phony Teddy Atlas with them and roll them in a ball and throw them in a sewer where they all belong.
    I have spoken!
     
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  10. GordonGarner65

    GordonGarner65 Active Member Full Member

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    Mike Tyson's problem was himself.
    His lifestyle was a mess throughout.
    Cus D kept him in shape by having him live in his house.
    You can do that with a teenager but once Mike was a grown man with lots of money then nobody was gonna stop him self destructing . It woulda happened with or without Rooney and probably with or without Cus. Losing them both and his manager probably just speeded it up.
     
  11. BrutalForeman

    BrutalForeman Active Member Full Member

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    Rooney was also a clown

    It's too bad Tyson and Rooney couldn't keep their heads screwed on straight. They had a good thing going
     
  12. zadfrak

    zadfrak Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Plus don't forget that other all time great that Cus had he was leading to the pronised land====buster mathis sr.

    And the D'amato defense and system is on a count. Same thing all the time and I think anyway, solved by elite trainers and fighters. And when it does fail, it fails horribly.

    Agree on Rooney. If he was so terrific a trainer, a ton of managers and promoters would have used his services. They didn't. He would have been an important commodity to have in a fighters' corner. But he wasn't. And that screams big big problems with the guy.
     
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  13. Rspen46

    Rspen46 Member Full Member

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    I heard from someone once that was in Tyson's camp at one time that Tyson always told them he wanted to not discuss Rooney, so that's why they did not ask.
     
  14. Ken Ashcroft

    Ken Ashcroft Boxing Addict Full Member

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    There were rumours that Tyson never forgave Rooney for not siding with him when he was trying to break away from Bill Cayton. Rooney always maintained that Cayton wasn’t a bad person and that never sat well with Tyson.

    To this day Tyson never mentions Rooney, Cayton, Jim Jacobs or Teddy Atlas (though apparently he and Atlas have settled their differences somewhat) and their influences on his life and career. Only Cus D’Mato and Cus’s common law wife are remembered with any affection by Tyson.