Mike Tyson might have been one of the fiercest men inside the ring but former coach Teddy Atlas has claimed that his biggest weakness was his mind.
In the 1980s there was no one in the boxing ring as feared as Tyson and 'Iron Mike' won the first 37 fights of his career, with only four of those going the distance and 33 seeing Tyson stop his opponent, often with brutal shots.
A surprise loss to Buster Douglas and a rape conviction, which he served nearly three years in prison, derailed his career and of his last 12 fights six ended in losses and two ended in no contests.
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Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience his former coach Atlas claimed that the boxer was 'mentally weak' and had 'residual stuff from his upbringing' that affected him, saying, "He used to hide in between abandoned building walls in Brownsville, it was a rough place. He used to hide between walls to not get picked on.
"He was as strong a guy as you're ever gonna see, but he was as weak of a person as you're ever gonna find."
Despite being coached at the age of 12 by Atlas that wasn't the coach who scared him with 'Iron Mike' revealing in his book, 'Iron Ambition: MY Life with Cus D'Amato' that D'Amato 'petrified' him.
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Speaking about the trainer the former heavyweight world champion wrote, "I was petrified when I was alone with him.
"If he called me - 'Mike, I need to talk to you' - I didn't feel good going over to him."
Tyson also explained how D'Amato would criticise him after fights, even if he'd won by knockout, adding, "People see the public celebrations of my sensational knockouts but they don't hear Cus talking to me alone after the fight. He'd make me feel like s**t, play with my emotions. He would put things in your head all day.
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"Cus made me feel two inches tall, when he asked me 'am I wasting my time with you? I'm an old man. you're a phone.'"
"The man I worshipped was telling me I was a phony. It was crushing. I soon learned to walk on eggshells when I was around Cus."
Even Iron Mike Tyson was afraid of someone.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Heavyweight boxing, Mike Tyson, Boxing News, Boxing, Lennox Lewis, heavyweight champion