Would Tyson have been champion without D'Amato

Tyson was taken in be Cus when he was what 11 or 12? His whole style and fighting philosphy was based around the teaching of Damato.

If another trainer got Mike he may have been a champ but not as good.

If Mike never got a trainer and started boxing later, he may have not made it to contender level.

Boxing is a skill and if you don't learn the skill your raw talents will only take you so far

 

No. D'amato taught him the fight game and kept him out of trouble.

 

Well, you're half right.

 

Half right? Cus and his wife adopted Tyson, and brought him into his home. If not for Cus, Tyson is likely behind bars before he turned professional. Boxing gave Tyson something to foucs on.

 

I think DD was looking forward of Cus, which of course you weren't.

 

I think there's a chance he would have made it, but I doubt it. D'Amato saved Tyson temporarily. Are there other trainers who would have devoted their lives to Tyson the was D'Amato did?

 

If it wasn't for Cus, Tyson would probably have been sent back to jail.

I think D'amato's actual input as a trainer of boxing technique is blown way out of proportion though.

From most accounts it was Bobby Stewart and then Teddy Atlas who taught Tyson how to box. D'amato would just watch Atlas and Tyson occasionally, Cus's main thing was psychology.

And then when Atlas left it was Rooney and Cus watching.

Same thing with Floyd Patterson. Cus was a mentor, a philosophy/psychology guy, but he let others train Floyd, guys who knew how to box and train boxers.

D'amato is a bit of a myth.

 

Tyson's style, his knowledge of the sport his mentality was all cultivated by Cus D'mato. His patience, his appreciation and discipline for the sport made him into a Great Champion.

Yes physical attributes would have taken him to contender level but remember from a young age he was being molded into the "Dempsey/Liston Edition" of Floyd Patterson.

 

Would he have even become a pro boxer?
Would we know?

 

Behind every great fighter is a great trainer.

Verry few exceptions.

A great trainer like Jack Blackburn might have honed his talent into an equally great but completely different fighter.

An awfull trainer might have made him into a faster version of Sam Peter with issues. Even at that he would probably have seperated one of the beltholders from their senses and belt.

 

Mike Tyson was currently being held in a juvenial detention center before Jimmy Stewart found him and introduced him to Cus D'amato. Right away, Cus deteremined that this was a kid who had what it took and said " thats the next heavyweight champ of the world"

Had D'amato not taken him in at age 13, Tyson likely would have returned to the streets and became a statistic before he reached 18.

Thereine lies my answer which is, No he would not have been champ.

 

An interesting question occured to me.

What if Jack Blackburn had trained Mike Tyson and Cus DaMatto had trained Joe Louis?

Both nurtured from an early age. What whould the end product look like in either case?

 

I don't think that some people realize that Tyson's chances of surviving adolecsence on the streets of Brownsville was slim to none, much less having a shot in hell at being a professional boxer without being taken in by D'amato.