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Mike Tyson is one of the few athletes in history to have transcended his sport. Fondly referred to as the baddest man on the planet, 'Iron' Mike Tyson was the poster boy of boxing through the late 80s and 90s.
To this day, Tyson stands as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title at 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old. He recently made news in the boxing world when he fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout. He has also confirmed a trilogy bout with former foe Evander Holyfield.
Much is known about Mike Tyson's professional career and his relationship with legendary trainer Cus D'Amato. Not much is known, however, about his amateur career. He competed in and won gold medals at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games, but Tyson had already been fighting for a while then.
Mike Tyson repeatedly got into trouble as a child, committing petty crimes and fighting those who ridiculed his high-pitched voice and lisp. By the age of 13, he had been arrested 38 times.
His emerging boxing ability was discovered by Bobby Stewart, a juvenile detention center counselor and former boxer. Stewart considered Tyson to be an outstanding fighter and trained him for a few months before introducing him to Cus D'Amato, the man who would go on to become Tyson's legal guardian. Along with D'Amato, Teddy Atlas regularly helped train Mike Tyson until the boy was 15.
Mike Tyson's first amateur fight:
Atlas recently started his own podcast where he reviews current fights and those from back in the day. In Episode 30 of 'THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas', the veteran trainer talked to co-host Ken Rideout about a young Mike Tyson and went on to detail the story of Tyson's first amateur bout.
A 13-year old Mike Tyson was already close to 200 pounds and couldn't find an opponent his age, so Atlas signed him up to fight a 17-year old. He went on to detail how people refused to believe him when he listed Tyson's age as 13, so he changed it to 18 to seem believable.
Teddy Atlas describes in awe how a 13-year old Mike Tyson made a fairly good 17-year old fighter miss, and, within a minute, delivered a vicious knockout combination. Safe to say, that was the day the legend of Mike Tyson was born. The rest is history.
Watch the clip from 'THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas' below:
Also Read: What does Mike Tyson's Workout Routine consist of?
