Mike Tyson recalls considering retirement during final conversation with Cus D'Amato, says longtime trainer threatened to "haunt" him if he did

Mike Tyson recently recalled considering retiring from boxing during his final conversation with Cus D'Amato. The former heavyweight boxing champion was in an emotional state, but noted that his longtime trainer made a very persuasive argument for why he should reconsider.

'Iron's upbringing and childhood is well documented and was eventually introduced to D'Amato, who helped train him and improve as a boxer. Tyson has spoken highly of his former trainer as they had a very close relationship and a father-son like bond. He has said on several occasions that he gained a great work ethic as a result, which saw him go on to become the youngest heavyweight boxing champion.

During his latest appearance on Andre Ward's The Art of Ward, 'Iron' reflected on his relationship with his trainer and recalled their final conversation. Tyson mentioned that he was contemplating walking away from fighting if he passed because of what he meant to him, but his trainer wasn't thrilled and quickly made him reconsider:

"I had to go up there and see [D'Amato] right before he was dying. And then, I talked to him and I was saying, 'I'm not gonna fight no more if you die'. He said, 'You better fight. If you don't, I'm gonna come back and haunt you.'" [12:48]

Check out the full episode featuring Mike Tyson below:

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Mike Tyson describes how he dealt with Cus D'Amato's passing

In addition to recounting his final conversation with Cus D'Amato, Mike Tyson described how he was able to deal with his longtime trainer's passing.

During the aforementioned interview, Tyson, who was understandably emotional, mentioned that his mindset and teachings from D'Amato helped him deal with the difficult loss:

"Psychological teachings of Cus D'Amato that the show must go on, there's nothing [that] matters. This is life...Life's only purpose is to prepare you for death, so all of this prepares us for death. Your fights, your adversity, losing people, losing my daughter, losing my friend. All of that prepares us for death." [13:16]

Check out Roots of Combat's post of Mike Tyson and Cus D'Amato below: