Teddy Atlas Explains How Mike Tyson’s First Fight Resembled A Hollywood Movie

Legendary trainer Teddy Atlas has opened up about the time Mike Tyson dominated a teenager four years older than him in his first exhibition boxing fight.

At the time, Atlas and Kevin Rooney assisted Cus D’Amato as assistant coaches.

Speaking on his “THE FIGHT” podcast, Atlas explained how it was odd for people to believe that Tyson was only 13 at the time. He was discovered in a juvenile detention center.

Atlas explained how difficult it was for him to find a heavyweight in the same age bracket as Tyson.

“By this time he was probably up to 195lbs/200lbs, he was 13 years old I think. How am I gonna find a heavyweight [his age who will fight him]? I had to put him in with a 17-year-old. Everybody would lie and try to get an edge in these places,” he said.

“Nelson said, ‘Okay Teddy, put down his age.’ So I put down 13 and he’s just come and said, ‘Teddy, come on, now you’re going too far.’ I said, ‘Okay, you want me to make you happy, I’ll put down that he’s 18,’” the 65-year-old trainer continued.

He was worried that the 17-year-old opponent may bully Tyson in the bout, but what followed seemed straight out of a Hollywood movie.

“The other guy’s looking to knock him out. So, within a minute, Mike made him miss and it’s over. He knocks this 17-year-old kid out…

“Bang, bang, bang, hitting him with combinations, three-punch combinations. All of a sudden he pins him on the ropes. He hurts the guy, the guy goes against the ropes.

“Then he comes in, bang, he hits him with a left hook. The guy’s head goes like this [twists backward], his body goes like this [limp] and he falls outside the ring,” he added.

At 20, Iron Mike went on to become the heavyweight champion, the youngest in boxing history.