Teddy Atlas Opens Up About Tyson, Sammy Gravano & His Upbringing

how did you go from being a kid wealthy neighborhood next thing you know you're getting arrested rocker island you have a issue with Mike Tyson with the gun what is the chip come from I can't figure out the chip with you teddy when I go on a Dairy Queen we're going to fight courage is facing something and there's nothing to overcome nothing to face what would coverage be that's a powerful statement you just made and cuz he would tell me the allele you're a born reader when you saw Sammy's response was a percent akin to memory so that I know his partner was a guy named John Gotti we want to get into the boxing business you put down at Dana who's the better promoter you know what helps to be a dictator sometimes I just don't have that some of these fights right now you're watching a for what all the fears all the doubts all the inhibitions all the crap that happened to us as a kid and then our one given night he could get in the ring and if you're prepared enough if you determined enough if you care enough you can be called champion of the world [Music] today I have a special guest with me Teddy Atlas who is a powerhouse in the ESPN world when it comes down to a commentator on top of that he's part of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and he's trained Tysons Michael Moore just an incredible resume and we're thankful for Teddy making the time to come out here in Dallas Texas appreciate meeting you yes it's good to miss you behind you you like the picture behind this is quite a diverse crowd can you can you name em all yeah I understand the guy with power and Kennedy and Lincoln and Tupac and you of course dr. Martin Luther King and so the guy next to Martin Luther King a lot of people think that's Warren Buffett but that's Milton Friedman the economist and then the guy standing next to me is a racecar driver Ayrton Senna and then the man sitting down as a Shah beer on Reza Pahlavi all right so yes with all those medals on them yeah I mean it's it speaks to what to you a little bit I guess why you got someone like me in here you you go all over the place why have a person like you in here I mean you're you're a guy that when it comes into the world of boxing and people see you as a scientist the way you see the boxing your lens the way you view there's a complete different lens and a lot of people out there yeah so the question I got the more I you know go through your story and obviously a part of why you're here is the Sammy the bubbles we'll get to later on in a minute because of what Sammy said about your relationship with them and you got a whole chapter on Sammy we'll talk about that here in a minute but how did you go from being a kid raising a family your dad's a doctor your mom's a Miss America pageant Staten Island wait wealthy neighborhood and then next thing you know you're getting arrested rocker island you become a boxer then you get into a fight with an executive and you have a issue with Mike Tyson with the gun then you're going after your one your boxers to the apartment at night because of what happened within Gallagher you know all what is the chip come I can't figure out the chip with you teddy you don't have to be from the projects or poverty you know to be missing something or searching for something and then again you can be from the projects or poverty and you're not missing anything and you don't have to search for anything you know it all depends on what we've been affected by what we care about you know what do you care about obviously you care about things that are attached to different things with your background and we had a little brief talk before you care about your father mm-hmm well a lot of sons care about their fathers and you never know to what extent to what extremity what extreme that it is until you know do you driven somewhere you know and you don't know what's driving you you just know what you feel I mean listen it's easier for me now to act like I'm smart when I'm a little older and I understand where I went and maybe a little bit about how I got there at that point when I was going I was just going I didn't know why but I was being drawn by something I had a father you just touched on you know we lived in a good neighborhood gave us everything we needed I didn't I was a big sports guy when I was a kid like a lot of us but Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays and Muhammad Ali they were all my heroes I liked them a lot I looked up to those guys but they want my heels I didn't even know what he was but as I got older I guess if I had a hero it was my father but he didn't talk like Ali and make predictions Oh at home ones like you know like demented or catch balls the way that really did over his head but you know he got up in the morning and he wouldn't took care of people and he didn't come back in too late at night when I was sleeping and he put a white pillow under his tongue one time when I was a kid and I didn't even know that that was nitroglycerine because his heart was starting to pop a little bit but it was more important that he did his job and he still saw his patients and it was if he he collapsed so um you know like he didn't talk but he he he produced he did and I saw and when you're kids you see things hmm you know and I saw what he was doing I saw what he was I opened up the door one time without without knocking I said enough but um it's part of you part of what you do you know you you take different steps and you just go and I opened up the door there was a mirror there and he was over here so I could see him without opened all the way and he didn't have a chance to react and he was bent over in pain wearing a harness I didn't know what it was it was a trust you know that was keeping his intestines in place because he had a double hernia back in the day when you couldn't do it with lasers and all that stuff and you know he got mad at me for coming in without knocking as soon as he saw that that somebody was there he was good he was he wasn't in pain no more so I was only about nine years old I guess but I realized at that point it was always in pain but he didn't show it because we're getting away of what he had to do don't show pain no excuses do what you're supposed to do and he went and he took care of people all day and didn't come home to midnight and he did house calls so he's 80 and he did him for free and he went into the projects because people couldn't afford a doctor and he built two hospitals one of them at 22 beds in it and he built it so before Obamacare and all this other stuff they talk about you know what they can't figure it out he figured it out himself in a small way you know he'd built a house but only took care of the people and the people couldn't afford it he he covered it you know he absorbed it on the arm like we like to say back in old days but the people that could afford a day in insurance paid the bills and that has for a lasted for 24 years and so it got torn down by the city because they had to built a bridge called the Verrazano Bridge on San huh but I didn't get him enough I was selfish all right so he wasn't around enough yeah yeah he was around in the way he was but you know he took care of the bills to care everything and you know I saw what I saw but as a kid you know I wanted to play ball with him I want to I know it sounds stupid but you know because there's kids that suffer a lot more than me but who's to equate what suffering is to a kid who's to make sure that how do you measure yeah I'd like to know how do you measure that that there might be a kid in the project something a lot more than me a lot more there's rats running around and he's got no food I'm with you I'm with you but suffering is suffering and not having it's not having what did you know what do we really need for me I needed I guess I needed my father to just say you're doing good say say hey I'm gonna be that stupid but I love you you ever hear that I couldn't do it because you know he had to be he was a real tough guy these big-ass tough guys you mentioned one earlier it's okay but he was a real tough guy you know because he did what he had to do no matter how he felt and no matter what could get away nitroglycerine didn't get away nothing getting away he did what he was supposed and in his selfless way and when I couldn't get that attention from him I started to figure out it's the genius that I was as a young kid and I'm making fun of myself because I wasn't too bright I I figured hey who gets almost attention all the people that are hurt all the people that are fractured all the people that are screwed all this sense of oh all the people that are damaged so you know what I'll go and damage myself I'll go from this nice neighborhood did you just say I'll go down to a neighborhood that's not as maybe nice in some ways and I start getting damaged but I also found family in that neighborhood I found I found in some of those rough places people that that were drawn together and I didn't feel that I had that without my father and so I go I went got damaged and um like I said my father was not a BS artist my father was a doctor bizarre he was a special guy I mean when I got this on my face because I was an idiot and I'm out there you know thinner streets and I'm fighting and not everyone fights with the hands I don't fighting a few guys and one of them still wanted to pull a knife and you know I got 400 stitches to an eye and listen I wish I didn't have another stitches yeah 200 insite 200 outside and you know I don't want this you know but sometimes it's the part of if you pick a path that that has a lot of sticker bushes in it you could get hit with sticker bushes and I got hit with knifes and when when it happened they would taken me to the hospital and I remember the only reason I got taken there so quickly was the kid that was with me from from the neighborhood that I was hanging out in he was a streetwise kid he jumped over the counter of a bodega and he said a cop was shot and so we got attention really fast you know and they think they got there real quick and I was so the cops thought I was gonna die because I heard them you know I heard him say I think we might lose him because you know you bleeding a lot and um when we were driving and obviously Miko here I remember I was really coherent it's amazing how clear you've been true love for things for me you in the army and thank you for that service and you faced worse things to me but I was so clear it was like hey I ain't worried about not the only thing I was thinking about was what is my father doing at this time is he in between house calls come on yeah that's what you were saying yeah is he in between let me try to figure you know because y'all screwed up you gotta cut here flee you know your your a little messed up but I'm thinking is he is he doing a house call or is he still in office now or is he maybe in the hospital like could you how long will it take him to get here did you want it to see it did you okay I'll always said to them I was telling the cops and they said just you know just relax don't talk and I kept I just kept saying here you gotta get docked at with I hit take care of this and when we got there they put me on a stretch and they're shooting stuff into me and they're taking me in and I guess it's just a moment perform out you know and and as I'm going in the surgeon is over me and I guess he was because not everyone's wearing a mask unless right he's talking to me and I'm just saying to him listen I'm not saying you're not I still had some - I'm just like I'm not saying you're not a good doctor but get dr. Halas he had take care of this and and they were like they were good doctors in a way that not just with the stitches they were good doctors because they understood they had a young kid he they know he was your father was they said they said we know doc that was he's a great doctor but we don't have time they said that to me we don't have time and they were they were honest and we don't have time I said no no no get him go to you at this time I was saw let's say I went up to custom Otto's when I was 19 and and then I went up then and I came back and when I came back after year up there this happened so I was like 28 21 and then when it was over with this is the point I was trying to get to with my father the kind of man he was and I don't want people hey listen you think what you think people gonna when I tell you this they're gonna say oh he's a cold man no he was and he was a it was a real man it was a realistic man he knew what he was dealing with he he I was laying man I guess I came out of it after a while you know I was obviously sedated and it was a doc and I mean you know I got a thing around me and I'm thin man I'm just thinking when is when's he gonna get here and all of a sudden a curtain opened up and I couldn't really see him but I knew it was him he had big aunts strong hands and I just remember Moe for me I remember he just turned my head a little bit because he was on this side just turned it and see he would know how to turn it without having worried about hurting you you know and he just turned it and all he said was they did a good job you're gonna have the skull for life and he left and that was it you know and I guess that was part of my travel back to being a human being that I could be like I am now because it didn't get me what I wanted it to get me you know so then it was just a matter after that of finding your way you know and thankfully uh you know with the help of some people and the help of boxing and maybe myself a little bit hey I got to the right place you know I got to the right place impressive for you to go from that to where you are today man I mean that's very very impressive to have turned it around that way that you and him ever have a sit-down relationship like last members of your pops what was the last conversation you had with your pops he was 88 years old he did house calls to his 80 free house calls and he had to get hip surgery he was in a lot of pain I never saw anyone who could tolerate pain like him and it got to the point where I was real bad so he went in for hip replacement and his heart wasn't great so the doctors he billed to hospitals he built he built Sunnyside Hospital the one I told you about then the bridge was built so they had to they had to buy it from them and tear it down put the highway there and anyone built doctors hospital but 60 doctors but he was the founder and that hospital s at 35 years and that's the hospital he gets hip surgery in and when he went forward some of the doctors said you you shouldn't because your heart you know in 88 and he said listen I you know I want to get it because obviously he understood the pain and so he went in they went in on Friday the 13th and we break them I know this sounds so superstitious my mother's Irish besides being beautiful she's Irish so you're gonna excuse the superstition so and so she we we said go on another day Friday the 13th is as good as anything so he went in he went in and had a massive heart attack and you know all the doctors the main taxes were gone for the weekend see it was fine 2:30 and they walk on because it's the weekend yeah so there was an intern there and I know this sounds like but hey look sometimes the truth sounds like something that you add it to but it is what it is oh that old saying you can't make this stuff right he um the intern came in and he very quietly said I'm having him I'm gonna have a massive heart attack heart attack he said give me 200 cc's of heparin now I don't know how many cc's I'm just saying but I think it was heparin actually it's a blood thinner and he understood he was a great doctor and then the intern said I can't you just had hip surgery you would hemorrhage and he said to him you don't worry about saving the brakes when you're gonna lose the engine always thinking calm cool even though ain't no and the guy said I can't I can't an hour later for heart attack and never fully recovered from it and I had a million tubes set up to him at the track to trach you know all the tubes and everything and obviously every day you know supposed to be and that was the only time I could talked because he couldn't talk about you know and then I don't doing that time I just there was a story written by Jerry Eisenberg the great writer he wrote a story in the new Star Ledger and it was a story that I talked to Jerry and the story was funny were talking about is I didn't realize well god what real tough guys are about your dad yeah but that was the headline in store a while what a real tough guy is and here's this guy in the hospital and Jerry talked and then me you know talk about the people I've been around maybe the guy different guys like the kind of guys you just mentioned earlier and um but they're not tough guys here's a tough guy and you know and just talked about him and his life and what he did and then I read the story talk but he was already gone I don't know if he can hear it but at the end of it you know I just you know at the end of it I said like in this story I read the story to him and in the end of it I say I love you and you know I'm not gonna lie to you it'd be more it'd be more better I know that's not the proper word but who cares it would be better if I knew he heard it it would be gutsy on my part how much guts do I have that I had to wait until he was seven comments awesome on that not too much guts not too much house but you know I I told it to him and I know again you know he wasn't completely gone and I thought I saw some smile I don't know you know we don't know right you don't know maybe you just want to see so maybe that's but I thought I did by doing it and um you know you hold on to those things I guess but you know they get you where you need to get to sometimes but on this your standard of tough guy like I see you see a man's man - you like the watch your life you've been around a lot of I don't like straw man put that way like I don't use the word stand up guy because I've seen too many I'm gonna sit down I don't want to get I said because you've never seen it with your dad your dad's always stay consistent tough never shown it you don't want to hear stand up because I don't know what it is I don't I did it's just a word Sheldon show me show me show me I love one time I was acting like a jerk and then I'm in the streets fighting and I get you know I get cracked in the back for the tire hey that you picked the streets they ain't to any rules it's kind of like it's kind of like MMA except they don't hit you a pipe stay there and they face you some people don't face you so in the middle of all this fighting I get hit for the tire and what do I do I go to his office to get stitched up thinking I'm like like I'm some kind of hero like I could won like I'm a I could walk in get stitched up and go out and get an act like a fool you know and so I walk in some one of my friends who just would do anything I said at that point so walking me in I'm bleeding all over the place and the place is packed because my father had the biggest practice that was in New York because - everybody knew your father at that there he was a well-known doctor you had to wait five six hours to see him and people didn't mind seven hours because they were gonna see this doctor and listen some of his part he's the only one who would take everyone let's see if you're gonna talk truth you told truth he took everyone he took anyone who needed health care and a lot of doctors you know they wouldn't take everyone they wouldn't take the drug addicts who needed a little help or you know they all other people that had no insurance because there was plenty of people that no insurance so anyway he I get past the line thinking on the big shot I won't pass the line he sees me you know oh he comes in the nurse of course sees me and she's like oh come on Teddy you know thinking she's doing the right thing and she's to me and past all these poor people that have been waiting and he looks down the hall he sees me he says wait like everyone else done a little wait after waiting it was a short day it was a probably about four hours so after waiting he brings me in I'm a mess no thinking I did some overall work you know we get you know we get stupid and I get in there and she gets the thing back in those days I see it big syringe of novocaine and she's handing it told me he goes what's that for very very simple man very simple but not like just what's that for she said it's it's know the game is oh he doesn't want that if he's gonna live this way you should know how it feels he doesn't want that and I was like wow of course I don't Wow and and you know so listen again some people out there gonna are gonna say that this guy was cold it was this is the same guy who got surgery that the Bernie I talked about after 30 years of carrying it around he finally got surgery back in the days when they couldn't do it the way they do it now and he was supposed to be in the house for over a week probably eight nine days he was in there for one day checks out and goes back to work how do you do that that's a tough guy how do you do that got it and now he paid a price for it because the smart man doesn't mean that he does smart things for himself all the time years lady had to get another surgery but he was able to get back to work why because he knew he could yeah he knew it would hurt he know it wasn't practical but he knew he could could we can tolerate things we can do things every day but he was doing it for other people not for himself and that's a tough guy did mom and I stay married they were there they stayed married yeah so mom was totally for Mom khatallah mom could be around it all the time you know I mean in some ways but look mom mom look can good for you not ready to talk you shouldn't put yourself in front of one of these things I guess my mother was drinking a bit you know and I'm sure that some of these things add it to you know add it to relief a little relief and escape and escape mm ah what a good woman good woman sir but the aunt is that the opposite of my father my mother was beautiful gorgeous I mean she was Miss staredown her mother would let her go to Miss America and she was supposed to go to Miss America you know the Rockettes wanted her to try out for them for them I mean she was gorgeous and it's but she was social she was she had as gorgeous is she was that's how electric her personality was she loved people loved them my father was working on my father was just like you know he didn't take vacations he didn't go to these parties and social events and all that he was in the office he was on a house call he was he was in the nursing homes nursing homes have to have back in those days they had to have doctors that were on them that was signed in as a medical director they didn't have money but they had to have a doctor as a medical tonight they couldn't pay him hmm so my father was a medical directive like nine nursing homes because because someone had to do it so they couldn't write so he didn't take no money but since he did it he figured that he had to show up or he should show up to see that the people aren't being abused you talk about being back in those days there would be a lot easier to abuse people who was who was checking who was checking nowadays you got everything you got somebody might have his cell phone and catch your muse and so on okay you don't need NBC so he he's going all these nursing homes doing all this stuff and my mother is you know it's tough you know and he's not enough that he's going to the hospital not enough that he's got his office hours not enough that he's doing house calls but but now he's going to nursing homes to make sure you know that that stuff was he an immigrant was he I know he's he polishes your mana hungry Hong Kong and my mother family came from Ireland and so so but not that they they were here but you went to Poland you can't be you why did you go to pol I went to Poland I went to Quetta wits and Cracow I spent a month over there to do a movie with Willem Dafoe oh okay I got it got it so your your your mom and dad was your dad an immigrant or was you've known here he was warning of Carens he was born his parents came and got one was his birthday just out of curiosity was it was his birthday January 19th January 19th and when are you your days after Muhammad Ali January 19 to this and your June 28th when is July 29 July 29 so he's two days after Ali January 19th interesting did you did you feel like I was always told me capricorns with special people he said was he one or no yes he was he was one okay what's he one is one that he paid attention to stuff we're not really unboxing your superstitions that he did but he didn't believe in like Venus being math the math okay I believe that certain characteristics were inherent in certain science Wow and I like him already there is no interest yeah and he told me you know you had to saw me he wasn't paying me I was in the gym you every when I was up there seven years with him I was open to gym training finest seven days a week he didn't believe in taking some that he's off and you know every day every day closed one today averages at night I grab a cheeseburger and go right to the averages be there to ten o'clock at night and you know to the last kid was gone talk to the kids with their problems besides teach them how to throw a jab you know whatever and cuz would tell me cuz would say yo Leo you're a born leader I said yeah I'm a born winner yeah he goes yeah he goes you look at history and he would read it it wasn't just making it I think it said look I've got all the leaders gone they were Leo this one was a Leo and I was like thinking my head you know I I hope guys like in a woman I mean you're gonna have some crazies no matter what you are good the booster yes like Alexander the Great I don't know how bad he was as a but Alexander that'd be a million square miles economy yeah cusp was a guy that paid attention today did he ever kind of hint that who he felt would make great boxers or no wasn't that yes what money things certain styles a certain months what month was his Aquarius was one or February yeah another one was Capricorn I have an ally baby you know and Taurus the Bull was Morris yeah he said some of them made pretty good fighters he told me Pisces would make good teachers so if I had a Pisces guy I'd be like thinking of it spending all this time with the guy and he's gonna be a teacher tiny bit like a little teeny teeny bit like you know I wouldn't because you put a lot of time miss Tyson's birthday but when I say his potassium was June to 30th so so cancer oh he's kiss a month before he's handsome he said cancers were good so he's the cancers was good to know it did he say Aquarius were good because they were most coachable and willing to be taught and they could control themselves because that's a big quality we're all about controlling emotions you know be that were being common and uncommon place-- being common and on comple so how many similarities between your father and between cus you know my father didn't talk cuz talked because taught you how to articulate things my father told you by doing that because it wasn't real he was he was a special man a great man but because because had some flaws my father didn't have and at the end of the day you know cuz was in a race against you know time and against death maybe where you know he wanted to have another champion and he lit a few things go and with Tyson and I'm Noddin I understand it better now because if I was in the same position what would I have done I don't know I don't know if I was in a position cuz was where I had tooth I had world champions before and my whole life was boxing I nothing else I never got married I only married boxing everything was about legacy everything was about attach to that and I had one special guy and I was getting old I was getting closer to dying and I needed this guy to fulfill to make everything worthwhile what would I do and and coz let a few things go and but my father didn't let none go my father never made deals deals meaning what feels like I couldn't when cuz cuz let's end behavior with Tyson Cole even the way he treated him was you're not gonna hear about you know the way Tyson treated cuz yeah God wasn't always so good I'm not here no was he patient than tolerant is that because cus understood that maybe he's going through a maturity level or he came from a tough place Tyson from Brownsville where he had to be understood those things that where he the way he was brought up that you had to have tolerance and understanding and appreciation for where he came from but there's still things that that you draw a line with when when you and school in the hallway and you're pushing goes into the bathroom in the middle of a busy always just banging them into the bathroom so you could touch them and to other whatever and and yeah going against teachers and getting physical and doing some other things you know I mean I don't think it's a secret now I think that you know he and then you you along you go and talk to the principal and saying we have a special kid here he's gonna make the town of famous you know he's gonna make history and he could be a very very very special fighter oh you I don't know you doing more than making allowances you doing more than understanding that there's going to be some understanding for the specialness of this Cayden of things that he's suffering from and the things that he can't quite get grips on you know you're not really helping him get a grip on it you helping him avoid right I mean that becomes avoidance more than it becomes you know helping somebody get better at something and listen again it's easy for me I was in that gym 18 19 years old training fighters cuz would come once a week maybe once every two weeks just to see what was going on and and I was just working training fighters developing finest and cus would give me the he didn't give me money but he gave me the food he gave me the nourishment I need he gave me what I need he would come and say look at this atlases developing and he's developing a staple of fighters here look at what he's doing and I felt so good you know I felt so big and I was developing these fighters and doing a job because we come like I said one step twice a week he would call me he'd overlook it and he'd see it and make me feel very proud and it was a special guy and all that then all of a sudden when the Tyson came along we had rules where I made the rules if a kid felt subjects in school he would stay out of the gym till he got caught up with that subject and pass that something and you know so we had these rules that made sense not just as humanitarians that's not trying to paint ourselves like we're well open the Hmong calcia but but how you gonna get parents from a small town to a lot of their kids to go if you're not looking out for the kid more than just teaching them to get a flat nose hopefully not get a flat nose hopefully we slip the punches we don't get them but you know you gotta be doing more so part of it made sense that we did care about them but I'm just saying that it made sense to take that approach just say hey they got to do good in school they got to behave outside the gym they got it too so we had all these rules when when Tyson started having problems in school a and I throw him out of the gym the same way as I did the other kids cuz would let him back in and you know it started for the first time me and him started he he didn't back me up for the first time ever you felt undermine and listen again you gotta remember I was a young kid I was in there training and because helped me and he saved me because I was an idiot out on the street and if it wasn't for him and my father because my father was paying for me to be up there it was only 15 hours a week but I didn't have 15 hours a week III didn't have 200 a month and you know he was I remember cuz would say to me cuz you know you'd have to pay a lot more for a college education because you getting a college education it's just that it's in this I said yeah sounds right you know and and all I'm doing is I'm doing what I'm supposed to do I'm teaching a kid to move his head after he punches I'm teaching a kid to understand range the distance I'm teaching a kid to controls feelings not to give in not to submit not to make sound learn agreements like when you get inside and and you don't feel like working what do you do you put your hands behind the guy the guy holds onto you silent agreement because you know you know that the guy most likely will hold on to you because you don't hit me I won't hit you you're basically saying hey get it so you supposed hit the guy right you put your hands behind them maybe if the guy's a little weak and hold on to you and now you told them if you don't hit me I won't hit you silent agreement Wow yeah because that's real that's what that's the business I'm in you better understand that stuff understand otherwise you just no X's and O's I turn this into a blackboard and I look like a genius but when I get out there with a real fighter I won't stick that up my you know what it ain't gonna help you can understand what's really going on under pressure how a person is thinking so I'm in a gym that's my whole life I'm gonna gym making finest in and if you don't go to school get out of the gym yeah come in late get out of here Teddy I'm 10 minutes late yeah you didn't have to discipline to be late you don't have to discipline to to to do what you have to do in the ring either were you feared will you feared or respected I don't know I mean I'm not in the Bronx Tale so I don't know when I know you know what I'm talking I'm just saying kidding around like it would be I don't know the truth of it is they believe me they just believe me I again we all want to pat ourselves on the back and and we want to be romantic and we and you know someone like the guy you mentioned before would probably say it was feared it is and then like you know they say well fear lasts longer something like that but I was in a real world I was with real people having real feelings I guess I guess my question would be this this disappointed but I just want to get maybe choice a right is I'm always in a world with real people with real kids that were having trouble with these emotions and they saw what I was telling them as a light to a dark place that we're going into that's what I want okay that that was lit in other words I'm going into a scary place right this guy's telling me what I need for that light to see where the Freak I'm going and and and and if I don't understand that you know what I have no shine it's scary enough that I'm going into that and here's the thing I wanted to say was at the end of the day I'm doing this on living his life I'm doing everything by the book and by my instincts whatever those instincts are they're growing and then I'm forming fighters and like I said you're late I get out of here Teddy owes them get out of here you come in tomorrow on time you could trade because if you can't be on time if you can't control yourself to be on time you you can't control yourself in it so I'm doing all this right and it was simple it was black or white cars had a thing hanging over his head he was getting older he already knew whatever I didn't know what it was to have champions he already knew what it was to have Fame and and all this stuff all I was doing was going up I was just working I didn't know there was anything underneath cuts knew there was something underneath so cuz when he started compromising himself and making decisions that hurt me that'll entice a goal and people sometimes now years later they go hey Ted you know you you made you you didn't go what do you mean don't give me no credit I was just his kid who I was coloring by the numbers uh number one red number two black I shouldn't get any credit because I was just doing where I didn't know that there could be fame I didn't know that I what it would feel like to have champions and everything I was just doing what I had to do to go forward and cuz no cousin knew what it was and what he might not have and he knew that the clock was ticking cuz had an anvil of his head that I didn't have and I understand that now I understand that let me ask you what is what is cusses a motivation because you're saying he never married anybody he married boxing who was he trying to what was he trying to prove I mean this is a guy that made it out of highest level you know all these champions all these people he's built what was he doing it for what was his motivation coming from he could make people better yeah but why continue doing it when you keep doing it there's got to be a bigger reason than just you know it can't be money it's got to be something they can't get credit for that he would want get credit for it and that drove him the recognition part or what could be what money could ever satisfy knowing that you can make champions what money could everybody know that now gonna happen yeah he can make champions he could make champions he almost believed that he can instill his will into somebody to be a god that's a powerful statement you just made that and did you see him do that like when he's done your lion your allele was he was he more a willpower guy was amor a skill guy well you know one of his sayings was to me as an 18 year old 19 Wow 21 22 he used to say Teddy always remember this will always defeat skill unless there wasn't unless because he was a man of he was a practical man and he and he had to have those answers he said unless one man's skill is so far superior that his will never gets tested and that was Tyson as will never gets tested Tyson didn't have a strong will but he had great great skills and when his skills was so dominant which they wore would stay wa for a long time till we met somebody named Holyfield and Douglas up until then his skills was sulfa he was like one of those monster trucks going over Volkswagen I mean it never got tensed evokes my complaint have a pretty good engine but you're all gonna find out you because it got crushed it might it might not because the body wasn't wasn't able to tolerate what maybe the engine later on could could show you they could do so Tyson would run over everybody with his great skills and those people never got a chance to find out where he was empty to look inside to check those places to look into you know to to just travel into those places to find out where he might be weak they didn't they didn't his abilities never let him get to that place never let him get tested until one day he got tested did when one cussed when cus I do you think he was borrowing cusses will so when that when he died his willpower also that is that do you kind of see a parallel there or that Dyson was greven because his will and that's not something you can borrow but what you're saying is will a cusp help he can't impose his will on you for you did you care you can't I got it I mean you can make somebody aware is something and if they're willing to face what they have to face once you make them aware of it that they might not have been aware of interesting you can help them but they got be willing to face that devil at the door you know that double knocks at the door you know you can't just lock the door mm-hmm you know you got to be willing to say you know true did you ever see anybody that flipped that went from no willpower to a little bit of willpower to a strong willpower yeah okay Bobby Holmes when he was in amateur yeah and cons made me very aware of it and I got all the v-spec for Larry he I hate to say this but hey well I was a great great great great champion and multi man and you know what you can say things because he got there he got there but I think it makes him greater so I'm gonna say it he was in a fight I think the guy whose name was don't ask me how I remember this and he was in the averages and he lost the fight in the amateur sir this guy supposedly quit and cus would say you know people said he was a dog and people and that again that shows you again how great Larry Holmes to overcome that because you can't have courage if you don't have fear how you gonna have courage if you're not scared of something what is courage without being scared of something coverage is overcoming courage is facing something if there's nothing to overcome nothing to face how did you show courage you have to have fear you have to be terrified to have courage yeah you have to you have to almost be weak to have courage you have to have a weak moment to have courage because if you didn't have a weak moment if you don't have the moment of self-doubt of thinking about submitting of quitting we hate to use that word but then how would you have courage how would you display what would coverage be coverages is getting passed as overcoming that's pulling you out of that so if you don't have that to pull you out of what it courage to college didn't exist and as what does that have no definition so he was in a fight and he comes made me very aware of Larry you know Larry Holmes when since I think it was Nick Wells but whatever was and according to what everyone said there he quit he gave it and he was alone I think he might afford to wane Barbic to when the amateurs but anyway he gave it and a lot of people said they didn't have any worth for him or any hope for him you don't think that he would be a great fighter because he was a Cohiba yellow because he wouldn't you know once once a dog always a dog and cuz said to me listen Teddy he's still young enough he's still at a point where he has hate to used his word he had an excuse he wasn't developed enough to understand that he could control that feeling and that he should control that film if he doesn't give up if you get some help and he doesn't give up he can become he can he can grow in that area because if he was a guy cuz would say Teddy if he was a guy who already had 300 amateur fights and already you know had 20 pro fights and he was doing that you know dun dun gone but at this point of development lack of development if he wants to look he can still be helped he went on to be a world champion set a record for most title defenses I think he might approach y'all lose who I think was the greatest heavyweight of all time for a lot of reasons Ali was right behind them just for me but Ali was great of course but Larry Holmes takes those right hands from shavers that's what cus said cuz said to me because we watch the fight together and cuz said there's a pro he became a pro that was the greatest that was the greatest continent cross could get you he became Hall look he got hit that right hand from Earnie Shavers who could knock walls down with the right hand one right hand he could knock walls down and he got dropped and he got up he became a pro teddy he gave powerful he became a problem so yeah this is somebody could get that will hey there is true to Redemption mm-hmm redemption is a beautiful feeling by the way it is it isn't me let me ask you this with the whole fear you know you hear a lot of things with fear versus danger fear is imagination danger is real right you you hear this these two words so to you you're saying courage is there's no meaning to courage if you don't have something to fear to have to balance or to have to fight to just happen to the fear but what is the difference between fear and danger to you you're not in a fight okay you're not in a fight until there's resistance up until the point is resistance is something to overcome it's just an athletic venture you've shown how quick you are how strong you are how good save you are how smart you are how tricky you are it's it's an exhibition but then something happens and a moment comes and you have to overcome you get hurt whatever and you have to overcome you have to get through you have to deal with resistance then you've been in a fight then you show those qualities those qualities have to be there then you know the difference between what your question was between fear and danger and danger is you know danger danger is physical fears emotional they both do damage buddy and you know that better than most people you know that because you've been there you've been in those you've walked down those tunnels you know and I I trained those New York Jets for three years I am it's it's almost sad to say that they actually put me in the press book as a coach back when mangini and Tanner bond was the GM and the coach but they asked me to come in and work with the team so I did and they called me a coach I was a coach but I gave him boxing lessons and I talked to them and I would I go right to the same places we're gonna fight I don't care if you're playing football I don't give you a lawyer I don't care if you're a teacher that has to go into a classroom that's not too easy to go into and face these kids I don't give you a board member that has to go in front of people and talk but we're gonna fight we're in a fight and the first thing I would say to these guys went when I first got their attention was hey we won't go into these these dark rooms it's just a matter of whether or not we stay there or we get out and I used to call the grave rooms I said say listen when you are a Ewing that you in the trenches you know you got a 300-pound guy in front of you and he's kind of Lee and he's strong and you know he's gonna do something to you and you still going into a gray room he's still going into a little bit of a gray room you know and then if you keep going further down that corridor there's a black rope you better get out of that grave room you but it's not moving this way towards this towards this where there's a little more like and and you know they understood it I used to even use the terms you know we used to talk about salmon agreements and I used to say to them you make selling agreements on the line in there sometimes you make selling agreements where you know you you you don't really you look for the guy you know to kind of do a waltz you know you don't really you make a little silent agreements in some ways do we do that in life you know yeah I used to say here's the tangible part of giving it in fighting guy starts throwing it don't hit me punch when I was doing the ESPN ringside fights that I would use that term all these twelve don't hit me what do you mean don't have any punches you don't hit me I won't hit you don't just just don't hit me I look like Bank not that because that I hurt the guy and then the guy's gonna respond and he might hurt your back but you told don't hit me you know don't hit me I won't hit you don't so I would say to the alignment do you ever suppose don't hit me blocks Wow and you know what some of these honest guys coach I yeah coach yep I there - a couple don't hit me high where I'm supposed to be you know and and then listen and what is it what are you afraid of well it's the physical fear you you've hit it right on the head you know it's the physical danger the physical danger but it's it's also the emotional of being embarrassed of failing of being found out none of us want to be found out that's powerful NASA yes sir that's the world you're in where you are gonna be found out yeah that's the best apart let me ask you how much of cusses style when you watch cus how much of it was let you say you're somebody is training Teddy let's see how bad you want it let's see if you--if you got it let's see if you got the goodies let's see if you can fight through your fear let's see if you got and how much ever was you can do it Teddy go get him go kick his ass because it's a different style of leadership right it's a complete different style leadership which which style was custom or was it a complete different style than what I'm talking about no cuz was about teaching because was about believing because was about substance tangible that sooner or later the ring was a chamber of truth so like someone's gonna figure out you could be as small you want they're gonna get in they're gonna figure out you were full of crap that your stuff ain't helping them the chamber of truth your stuff ain't helping them you you better you better tell the truth you better tell them what they're what what's their what's common what what they're gonna be facing and and part of the way you tell me is he explained to him like I would talk to find this and I would say and cuz would say yeah there you go see I told you a great leader you know again he's not paying me as keep it had to give me something bump me up but I was I was progressing and I would say to you know I would talk about the things that it'll make sense to talk about that I knew they were failing before before it came out and opened to let him know that I understood they I understood what was there what they would think when I took kids amateur kids when I was the power was time to take him to fights I take him down to south box they get fights and I would have him sitting in a locker room dressing awake and I have a young kid you know the way you're supposed to look like and I come by but I knew they were dying so I come by and say you know I didn't even say that your shirt movement joking around like and the hard part I didn't I you know I could hardly tell you sir and the kid go I think if they can't help it they could do it I said no it's not showing I said it's not showing but I know how you feel like because he was you know and then sometimes we'd be going down and we'd be driving down in a station wagon right going down you know where we're going we ain't going to have ice cream we're not go on the Dairy Queen we're going to fight in the South Bronx in club shows smokers tough place so we're driving and I used to say any kids so how many in wish and I get a flat tire right about now no we don't know flat tire teddy I don't know all right a few years later when the kids were out of box and they were growing up they were someone going to college you know I'm proud of all these kids Teddy remember when you said we were hoping you get a fun set but we knew you'd fix it Wow God so you so so because when I read about you telling you tested your guys you gave them you gave them the bleep is this story true by you testing a Michael Moore when he's coming to the corner you take you're not gonna sit down right now I'm gonna sit down stand up you haven't earned the right to say that did you say things like that your guys or no yeah it's on tape so you can't can kind of hide from it you know I'm just glad it's on tape when you said it to Michael yeah okay yeah it was on HBO so this it's there to see but I mean I'm just glad he didn't say yeah you sit down you you go find I'm glad that he that he did what he did which was behave like a guy want to be a champion how different is it when he said I didn't do that that's one thing that should be really clear I didn't win that fight against Holyfield he did mm-hmm I did my job but he more importantly he did his job he did his job and he freakin did it good how different how much to how different is it we're at the gym your trainer with and I'm looking good okay and you're working with me and you're testing me I'm looking good I'm going to a couple things you're watching I'm doing good and then it's the real fight how much do you change and how much do you learn about the guy that you're training so the steady change in the corner different than the way you're training me at the gym or no no okay but but it's but re reminders yeah okay listen I don't they're gonna hear some of the same things they heard every day in the gym they're gonna hear sometimes nothing weird no but but it becomes more intensified you know it becomes that that that beam of Sun going into the prison glass and it's still a beam of Sun and you're still getting light and you're still getting a Sun every day but now when you put that when you put that on you know that prison glass there that magnifying glass there it comes out a little stronger a lot stronger well this is the moment this is the moment baby this is it does everything we trained for so I'm gonna be a little bit more stronger and and forceful about it then I might have been in the gym or put it this way more concentrated you know it's it's it's still the detergent you're putting on your clothes but this is the high the stuff that's more just more concentrated and it's strong who's that who's the guy you saw over the years who you would say you the best in skill set the best in skill and then who would you say you've seen over the years who was the best in the will as a fighter oh wow I mean there's so many in great skills I mean Sugar Ray Leonard was a great skill guy you know Mayweather great skill guy you know and he had great wheels too but then usually it's the guy with less skill that might have too great a will because he needs it there was a there was a kid years ago named Danny little red Lopez it's back in the 70s in the 80s I used to watch what cuz good right hand poncho but he got hit too much but man he knocked everyone out he beat everyone he got on the floor got off the floor Alan Pryor oh my god before drugs got a whole damn what a will he had he wins the title against the guy named kid pom Polly Antonio Cervantes a great fighter he wins the time some guys can't like have free rights when they fight for the time you know they get soft too touches nothing here he fights Cervantes he gets dropped he gets far as they're counting because he got a given a count and Cervantes is waiting for them to count right they counting prior prior does a backflip and and the referee is like what's going on here hey hey and like he's trying to sort things out here and and here's Pryor doing this and and Cervantes is like melting right and funny like an ice cream on a July day like like what oh wait like like I got the skills obviously I just put him on the floor but what is this guy guy [ __ ] so that was one of the greatest worlds I ever saw was having prior to be honest with you and and the ones that I you know what I just touched on you know that I just that I mentioned on the skill side Leonard and Mayweather yeah Mayo the Leonard Ali Ali skill and we'll yeah because there was two alleys you know the first alley was before that three and a half year layoff when he refused to go on the army where he beat you with speed and skill and then after three and a half years or if he didn't have that anymore and he had to find something that he never knew he had to that level complete complete well I mean I'm talking about supreme will cuz once told me there was only two fighters he ever saw that had supreme confidence that they believed there was no way that you could beat them Sugar Ray Robinson in Muhammad Ali that they had that and it was a quality just as important more important than speed or power footwork to quali just like I believe that character in a person is acquire I believe Tyson didn't have it and it finally showed up his skill got him to wit I don't don't give wrong but character that that sooner or later sooner or later you're gonna need that that that that is that's gonna show up that if that if you're missing it it's it's gonna show but sooner or later you because people say well define character Teddy like I can understand speed I understand power I understand slickness but what do you mean that characters or quality how about being dependable when you rather have a friend that's dependable than one that's not dependable I would well wouldn't you rather have a fighter that's dependable than one that's not that's character and when the moment came was Tyson dependable I'm not knocking him I'm gonna tell you now so those haters out there that are sir all 30 of the one of the greatest punches ever one of the greatest combinations of speed and power ever one of the greatest switch hitters like Mickey Mantle that could hit them on the left side or the right side of the plate lefty or righty could could knock you dead you know one of the greatest finishers ever when he hurt you I mean he and all those things so I'm the first to say that but he wasn't dependable he wasn't dependable because when he had to be dependable he was off somewhere else he was in there I want a guy was dependable I want a friend who's dependable Shh you know it's crazy there's a book out there called something about CEOs and they did a research on what qualities of a an employee helped them eventually become a CEO of a company and it was reliability which is the same as being dependable and it was number one above everybody else when people said why do you enjoy following the CEO they would say because he is reliable and eventually he ends up having a group of people that want to work form because he's relying where's merely about cost right so how old's me early about how cool what he wanted me to be mm-hmm I had to be reliable as a teacher because if you lie to these guys and they get in the ring and that freaking stuff is common oh oh holy crap he didn't tell me the truth I couldn't rely on what he told me you taught people if I'm a guy for you and I'm not ready fight someone who would tell me I'm not ready to fight that guy would you tell me that if I'm your fighter are you kidding me yeah how would you how would you have that conversation with me you ain't ready for a ball at an earlier stage I've actually told some people not to box anymore I don't know he's retired get out of the game yeah because I didn't think that they could get to the place to a place to make impact money to to be able to really be worth it for them where they where it would be worthwhile the diverse they were taken is the risk of course all right not just a risk physical risk but risk of time a risk a risk of of involvement a risk of would you dedication would you dedicate dedicate yourself if you're not gonna be able to have a chance to get there take that same dedication and use if it's somewhere you can't get to I had a kid years ago when I had Tyson up there great kid great kid and he was a heavyweight he played a little football a pretty good level he went to Lehigh with a scholarship you know I think that was Division one I think he got a cup of tea with the Cleveland Browns you know just like a quick try out whatever physical guy and heavyweight he wasn't gonna make it I mean you know he he could be okay but he wasn't gonna make it they came a moment where there was state police tests were coming up up there and he came to me great kid great person he came to me said Teddy what do you think take the State Police test yeah and you know what I've been diving back touch with him but I heard he's in BCI I already moved up the ladder future boxing you was the future box and I'm obviously I'll give you mine I want to hear what you're gonna say about this on what I feel about the world of boxing I used to be a fan ice to follow it I enjoyed it I don't believe it anymore because I think there's way too much politics and I have that Buster here I had Joe Cortez here we've had some of these guys we've sat down and they're so well you know the scoring system is now working because the best way to really have judges look at the fight this from the top Joe said you got to look at the judge another best ways I have honest judges okay so that's where I'm going with this so how much how much does that affect the game of boxing the world of boxing with Jason fans it's Jason fans it hurts the credibility of the sport but has been around 200 years so it's not going away you don't think that's gonna change it does judge because people think these these people had Hollywood and all these stars and all these and they they all come out for the big fights why why it's the same reason that people go to Lourdes to get the waters to maybe they're gonna get a little healed maybe maybe the waters will help them they will heal them they come to those fights because maybe they could get better maybe they can see real men in the ring noble warriors facing their inhibitions facing their doubts facing all the dog spots inside themselves and going in there and being better maybe I could be better if I get close to these guys and I watch that's why they all come out maybe I could get touched by it maybe maybe I could face something a little bit better maybe the next time that my boss is coming down the hallway I don't go and hide in the water fountain and let water run in my mouth while I'm not drinking just waiting for this freaking guy to leave maybe I get stronger maybe I get tougher maybe I become more you think that's what it is it's draws people it draws them to see a man face another man with all the weaknesses that we have inside ourselves all the fears all the doubts all the inhibitions all the crap that happened to us as a kid all the stuff that was taught us that we were yellow we were this we were no good we were all gonna be this we weren't gonna be that and to go in and see two men face themselves and face all those things today it ain't the other stuff it's what you're facing about yourself inside what you don't know and be willing to find out to know people want to be around that and I'll tell you one other thing that makes boxing great I think there's too many excuses in life anyway I gotta say that but sometimes sometimes people will say life's not fair all right I know you can go on the other side and say you got to make it fair you gotta I get it I get it I would but sometimes you could say you know what it's tough you get born with certain genes you get born by certain parents you get one of certain places certain colors certain I don't believe there's anything that holds you back now well we've as a country we've we've got past that but sometimes you feel that if you feel it and if you feel it it could be real it don't mean it's real but your feeling you think it's real and then that you have poverty you didn't have this [ __ ] in you know yeah your clothes you [ __ ] a little embarrassed because you were wearing hand-me-downs and and your shoes had some holes in them and all this stuff that you didn't think was fair all this stuff and then on one given night he could get in the ring and if you are prepared enough if you determined enough if you care enough you can be cold champion of the world wow that's pretty freakin good that's why people come that's why they call them to see that to witness that you UFC versus boxing I'm curious your thoughts on UFC vs. boxing obviously UFC is coming up tremendously right now it's getting a lot of credibility right now do you think there will come a time where US is gonna take over boxing no you don't think I haven't been around 200 years and boxing is just what I just said and it's the problem with boxing and the reason why UFC they have their own market it's like having two restaurants you know but but you're still seeing people going in both places say now another restaurant this restaurants gonna close no because they still have patrons they still are people that like that food there's still two different markets people like this food and they like this food so you're still gonna have it but Dana White has done a great job of marketing his brand marketing his sport developing his sport you know it helps to be a dictator sometimes I know I know you know I mean if you don't kill nobody you know if you could be if you could be completely in control like Dana White is and you say hey you fight this guy you fight this guy I'm only putting competitive you don't like it hit it highway 99 it's to make a left and to rights and if you can controlled it like that you can make you proud of good and get away with it and that's part of why he gets away with it I'm not knocking him I'm saying that that it works and that that's part of why he built up his sport but boxing you know the NBA has a national commission if you haven't heard that an NHL if you haven't heard has a national commission and uh MLB every one of the the football NFL the International Commission to put rules and enforce rules for the benefit of the sport I say it again not for the benefit of Tom Brady even though he might have had a few soft footballs he was throwing over there I don't know he might have got away with that one but for the benefit of de-spawn I just don't have dad who the Frick is saying you got losses you got abide by the rules for the bet there is no Nationals are you've got a bunch of these freaking lowlife I should be careful but what the hell it's too late I mean well it was still some of these promoters that they only care about their own little piece of property and they control that piece of property they do they don't they don't give a fig about the sport in boxing or new UFC and Don foxy boxing boxing that's the difference boxing has a bunch of not a bunch maybe four or five powerbrokers if that many that that have the networks that have the power that have two stable fighters they have to control and they don't care about the sport about they can't put their piece of land so they don't care and fight his fight competitor fights as long as they get to 20 and all 25 and all and they're on TV and they're getting big checks they don't care if the supporters driving how do they control them they don't care they don't care if a judge gives a corrupt decision as long as it's corrupt on their side of the fence because they don't they don't care about twenty years down the road they don't care about the the sport of all they care about the diamond could so that they still have power how do you do it you have to have a national commission so let me ask you a question though if David if they know white ran boxing he would have made the Mayweather Pacquiao fight at the peak is what your son's boxing I get that what if if it was if it was ran it obviously can't revert back there could be such a thing as the Nationals on boxing yeah yeah he would say no yeah we got you're gonna fight this is what you got a fast you don't want to do not fight noble and maybe he would also so they have their problems too but maybe he would also say after a horrible decision where you'd have to be like yeah I don't know yeah yeah I mean you'd have to be unlike a lot of Psychiatry medicine I guess I'd have to be taken a lot of hallucinogens to make a decision away some of these judges make well you know the other guy won and maybe Dana White and could come in or Czar could come in and say hey you were the judge come to my office Monday morning we're gonna watch this tape and if you don't have a damn good explanation of how you frickin scored this fight for the other guy start looking for another job right away that's powerful then Dana would do something like that because Dana right after the fight will say I don't know if I agree with this I don't know if I agree with that and half the time people are ticked off at this guy but he's running the show you know how many fans come up to me every day and they say Teddy thanks for telling the truth but now your sport these those decisions what you're saying but Teddy what you're saying is the reason why I agree I don't know I mean with the way it's going right now look how many fights he's putting like how many exposures gonna go like how much social media one company's ultimate fighters like this stuff I mean you look at boxing right now who's the biggest poll right now you got Canelo's pulling the Latino fights okay let's just say Canelo Golden Boy side right on the heavyweights at who do you have wilder okay fury Joshua after the fight you know he wants to go be friends I don't know if that's like this talyvel heavyweight you know I don't even know if the fans wants to see this like you lost man don't Oh Ruiz like who is who is the pole today who is the pole today where you're sitting there saying like right now you know it's a fox you're right you're a thousand percent right but you know it saves it it's kind of like living in a place with rains every frickin day and you're just about to freak and say I can't take this no more I cannot take this straight anymore and then over such bulk you have a sunny day how do you want to know how you got the Thrilla in Manilla every once in a while you have the last one week but every once in a while you have a great fight you do every once in a while you you have to ran and let it every once in a while and that's what saves it what's the last one oh we've had a few pretty good ones give me a good one like like a gaudy versus oh yeah Adi was always in great that's like um that wasn't even making momentum is a movie yeah what was sick you know oh it's a great you can watch that over and over and over again fights like that makes me spend thousands that kind of fights some of these fights right now you're watching a for what you're watching it for I don't object again I don't want to go off track here I'm just asking because I'm really value you see what you think no no no but I will ship but you do get them you do still be the last one to steady no you had one just not too long ago I'm just coming up short right now okay um it was just it's just I'm trying to remember which one it was I mean I had a kid involved in a fight better be of the light heavyweight he was the IBF champion against my kid the WBC champion vozack Ukrainian against a Russian kid and on tremendous fight we came up short but uh I was on espn2 many times you have a against B you're right it's like a farm system it's like like they're just the the promoters are using the network's their network some of the executives like they're not the brightest guys in the world sometimes just because takes anchors don't automatically mean that they're geniuses and but they have a product to cells and then they taste and they stay there they're there they've been put there and they're there you know certain places and so you know you got but yeah you got a lot of a lot of times on television on these different networks you got the eight kids to be in executives don't know what's going on that the promoters using them to build their stable phase again where it's not competitive they're just building their guys up but on that fight was we lost but um it was a tremendous fight and then before that spence spence and porter welterweights that was about maybe a month ago that's not lo long ago that was two guys with wills and skills I'll tell you right now Spence had the better skills but Porter man he had tremendous will and you know what he was winning the fight on my scorecard going into the late rounds but then the other guys skill and he had some will allowed him to come back and it was a really it was really a tremendous fight so they're still there you think doc King was good for the game I want to give an honest answer and takes a second to think about it you've robbed fighters disrespect to fight his hurt fighters but he also it's like kind of like asking if you made the Rocky movie was Rocky good for boxing the Rocky movie was fictional it was you know wasn't real but it brought a lot of fans to the game mm-hmm King brought a lot of fans of the game he put on extravagant events while key events in in way off places like Zaire where it brought attention to where we're still talking about it to him yeah so I guess that's your answer he has helped yeah I mean you can't get around it but but I qualified it by saying what I said first because that's fair who's the modern day down I mean Don King anybody today that's doing it at his level the way he did it Oh I mean Errol Errol is a guy that's been around 60 years now and he's you know he got fortunate that he he was about to go out of the game my frankly HBO was and wasn't doing really anything with him anymore and I and then ESPN saves him and he's with ESPN now and you know he's definitely the biggest promoter in the game probably and then you got guys like Eddie horns with with his own you know you got him there one of it ignorant boxers as a trainer of mine local guy here he's part of the zone but it at that level of a Don King today at that level like you know if you put Don and Dan I forget about character and all that stuff the way you described on you put down in Dana who's the better promoter I mean Dana hasn't had the longevity that King had first of all longevity has to be factored in there right a little bit and but for Dana saw they just put in some big events on in a short period of time he's catching up you think he must I know you just spent some time with Maz Vidal which you know his fight would be as yeah comes across as a good person like a character guy do you think his a request to want to fight Canelo is a disease to have a standing chance to go against a guy like that or no probably not probably not okay I mean we talk to truths right yeah sure I come and listen that's why he's a guy that I could like because they see me tomorrow and everything you say teddy hey yeah I understand you're saying that he won't be one of these guys he's trying to play it yeah and try to put a front on but listen in his mind if he believes that then it's the truth for him it's the truth for him for me you asked me a question from liya from where I sit and I think that listen should anybody be look badly at for trying to do something Titanic for their families for themselves something huge like kind of kind of agreement did with Mayweather he had no chance with Mayweather mm-hmm but he was able to sell it by saying that he could beat him and enough people believed it to make it to make it something that there was a historic with the money they made you blame somebody no I don't shooting for that no I don't mean you have to believe yeah then it's that it's gonna happen but you see that this goes back to it like think about it right now how many people wanted to see that fight with him and Nick right there Diaz who this is like a good fight right this comes tremendous fight and now khabib you know he you know now counter Dana's saying there's no way Conor could fight a guy like Mazda because he's too big for him right but but there's excitement there so oh I want to see that Conor good fight Mazda don't know no they interesting there's no way in the world that wouldn't have you good match they couldn't find it no because because Jorge's way too big for counter that's what Dana's talking about Canelo no no no Conor McGregor fighting Maas Vidal yeah that Maas Vidale is too big for counter because Connor wants to fight him but guys have moved up and waiting I know they have but but Dana say he would you say yeah but what I'm saying is if there's the excitement there's the excitement of the micro spring pumped up to heavyweight to show Larry Holmes yeah he went from 175 to 2 whatever because almost was like what to 2230 whatever somewhere in that neighborhood maybe a little less and he moved up he worked at it the right way we went about it the right way and he won you know so I would say listen I give credit to Dana so you would want to see a counter my mother though you would want to see that fight I you would want to say count on what listen if it was something that could be intriguing to it and I think mother dogs earned the right to shoot for something like that to be able to average it because there's certain kinds you can make more money with it's just the way it is it's just the way it is McGregor has that gift of gab here he's got that special promotional gene he's a great promoter may Blair was a great promoter nobody was greater than Ally and they were great wrestlers that Ally took from to go joy gorgeous George and all those guys Ali would tell you the truth I took from those guys you know so they have a PhD in it and and McGregor's got a PhD in that and four and Muslims just he's recognizing that that hey listen I could go bust my butt all day long and I ain't never gonna make the money I could make with this guy that has a PhD in promotion now I'm not saying that it would be that it would be the greatest fight but I'm saying that I give my I would buy it because I would buy I believe in Mazda door I believe I think McGregor was good to it his at his level but I'm just saying I believe that he's earned the right to venture into those places he's a boxing guy that's excited about us see see that's the part it's pulling even a guy like you did at UFC Slyke last thing before we wrap up here obviously one of the reasons why we got connected I wish it was a different reason but one of the reasons why it you know you really are I say with Sammy Sammy the bull Gravano there's a chapter in your book about Sammy you know I read it I mean obviously it's a very very interesting chapter the relationship with you and just son all this stuff what what it when you saw Sammy's response when I asked him the question of fear and I'm sure people send it to you say hey Teddy watch what Sammy said but you Teddy Atlas said to me one day are you afraid I said no I didn't say I don't have fear I said no Teddy Atlas is an [ __ ] was the first thing I came to mom when he saw that consistent is the same guy you know he's not honest you know he I think that um I think there's a combination of things I think one of them is that he's not relevant and trying to find a way to become relevant you know he's trying to become get attention become important again and maybe use somebody to become important again I think that I just think that um it's the consistent you know that he could never and we talked about it earlier that you know if you if you deny something if you deny something that's in all of us which is fear how can you have overcome it if you deny it if you won't face it oh isn't that sort of the definition of being cowardly that you won't face something I mean that if we don't use such a powerful word as cowardly isn't that avoiding something that we God doesn't let us avoid nature if people are uncomfortable with hearing me talk about God all right I respect that I'll call nature nature has put fear in all of us so we can be better so we can overcome things if we don't understand that we are fear and we say we don't have it well like I've always said two fighters two real fighters either liar or you need to go to a doctor and find out what the figures wrong with you because everyone has it you have it why don't we walk across the street and look both ways we're not cowards but we are fear well we have fear because we might get hit by a car so we look because we don't want to get hit by a car could that be being cautious it's fear you think it's called caution but it's an element of fear it's an element of being afraid of getting hit by a car yeah use the word question it's comfortable but if we're gonna get down to the nitty-gritty its fear it's fear that we could get killed now we could get maimed I mean you were getting a palace I'm just saying that when you I didn't listen to it I just heard what people told me so I only have snippets of it but you know it's just consistent with a guy that's never gonna be able to be truthful about because he always looked at it like he always looked at it like it was a shortcoming like in his world it would be a shortcoming well guess what you proved that you had a shortcoming by what it did so no matter what he says you know that old saying the horse is out of the barn somebody should tell him the horse left upon a long time ago we already know that he's afraid because why did he do what he did he did it because he was afraid he was afraid of facing what was common I mean somebody should remind him say he Sam listen I know you don't like to listen to her but bow you've been exposed to ready he already proved that you're afraid I won't even use the word a coward I can use it but I won't but you've already proved that because of your woman you would have faced what was coming you really said come on but instead you found the way out when the fight comes when the moment comes fighters fight they don't find ways out you know how to fight it you shouldn't even use that word shouldn't even you you know what you want you're a freaking you're with one of those yuppies that that orders stop ugh vanilla lattes on the app the only differences you order emerges instead of lattes and and because you didn't have the guts to do the murders yourself although it doesn't take much guts to shoot someone behind the head that's what you are go get the Starbucks app and order some frickin vanilla lattes okay but don't bother me then forget it here I know what you are I know what you're not I know what you're not to stop the BS what else your talk you spending you with him how was he when you spending you're with him I mean you trained his son you guys were at the gym together you guys were you know he would come and ask you questions what was he like I mean you wouldn't spend a year with him if you guys didn't get along that long you guys said there was no good I in relationship at some point there right yeah I mean he he liked boxing and he reached out to a relationship he was training at Gleason's Gym and Brooklyn on to the bridge I was trying to fight his there and he reached out to me because you know he was training he was training with a with Edwin Viet who was a real fighter who was a guy who fought Durant forth I ran and 15 rounds he won would yeah yeah he's a real fighter but but also he's a guy who you know he didn't make money in boxing real money and he needed a way to make money so we would let's say me pay him to let him hit him and not him back is that is that going in and if I wasn't afraid I wouldn't get into is that really getting in the ring is it oh gee really I know a lot of people to do it that way there being a line out the door you could do it with a guarantee that guy won't hit you oh wow that's that's like saying I'll go in the K to a lion but make sure the Lions got no teeth and no cause I'm alive does that make me a line and fighter will this make me fight a guideline that has no teeth and no claws and it's not a lion anymore it was a lion by the way has teeth and claws and can kill you a fighter by the way can hurt you if he's allowed to hit you so listen hi yeah I was I was in a gym with him he reached out to me one day you know asked me to train him instead of Edwin he said I think you'd be a better trainer for me and I said no and then one day Edwin was away with a fighter and he came to me and said he's away today would you do it I'll pay ya there ain't gonna take no money I do you a favour of training for the day one day they did and then that grew into later on we worked out in a weightlifting gym together mmm you know for a year and that was that that's all that's all true and I trained him for that one day and after that one day you know of course he said that's the style I should be learning and I'd like you to I said I told you for one day I'd do it you know and then he offered me I mean you won't go into it he offered me he offered me he said me and my partner I know who his partner was I mean a guy named John Gotti we want to get into the boxing business we'll give you $75,000 seed money those were his words and um pay yeah I think it was two thousand a week and buy a building put in your name I was thinking to myself I'm gonna listen you know that old silly saying you know I was born at night but not last night you know I mean I'm not the smartest guy but I'm not two stupidest stupidest guy in the world you know and you know I do care about other things other than just saying oh you'd be nice because I didn't have a lot then I didn't have much at all to be honest but I also I was okay about how it would affect my family you know see that to me that's part of being brave that's part of not being a coward that's part of showing something more than just saying you're tough kind of tough guy cares about what's gonna happen to us but father kid tough guy cares about the collateral damage to consider people I knew that if I did that I said hey I pick a gamble what the fake I knew what that would do to my kids I I even laughed to myself one time when he said we put the goat in your name I said the indictment still I mean you know I mean yeah I didn't say that loud but the indictments are being my name I think - very clear Theodore a hapless because when you in court it they're not gonna say teddy so you know so he offered me although and I said no there was no BS and around it I took a meeting with him and all his wise guy friends and you know do me a favor you just take a meeting and and yes or no yes or no this way they can hear it out of your mouth they don't you know talking about would have this we have this we have this way there's no no that was it so yeah that's the story with you on Sammy did you relate to any part of Sammy as as character or not at all that one year you got spent on together was there any like a chip or anything to prove like did you see anything where I saw out there gaudy like you and him similar did you see anything or not listen I I saw a guy well be careful I don't want to just say something the sake of saying it or for vengeance or anything like that I want to say for the truth I saw a guy that sometimes said time went on I wondered it's kind of like seeing a fighter like that can't face what you have to face ultimately in the ring like he's become a state trooper you know like we talked earlier huh become something you know what I mean I kind of saw like a guy who obviously his vocation was a gangster right and when when he when he starts saying I ain't afraid of nothin and you know you know and then starts asking you questions like you know I I'm not of how do you help fight this how do you make them control themselves they said you mean their fear oh I don't have fear Oh like you just it's just like you want a witness then you just said guilty I mean that wasn't hard to figure out yeah you don't have fear and no it's how do you talk I suppose you got a control feels like fire fire and then like that's used fire like you can't even like how's this guy gonna be what you gotta be when you get in the ring eventually you gotta face the devil right you gotta face that moment you gotta fake that guy that's gonna come to you in the ring and say you ready to do this you've been hurt you're ready to do this you ready to be a fighter forget about being a fast guy forget about being a power punch and forget about shootin guys in the head are you ready to be a fighter are you ready to be a gangster are you ready I kind of thought it ain't ready but that's his problem that's his thing growing up in Staten Island were you ever close did you ever associate yourself with any of the gangsters because I know you know Godfather was obviously shot there and some of these guys Gianni Russo some of those guys came from Staten Island were you close to any of these guys are not a zoning rules of actor I know please let's be careful I didn't say he's a gangster but he's from but he's from whatever he was a guy that was a associate I Costello years ago yeah and they governed him quick in the Godfather so I don't know about him I mean to me there was more significant people around than him but listen it was a there was I think everyone knows that there was I mean Castellano lived on top of total over the house that he called the White House I mean you know there was a good amount of gangsters on stand up I mean did I associate with them no I wasn't hanging out and playing pinochle with him but I guess obviously people know each other you know and and when you're in the boxing business you when you're from stand out people you know people gravitate towards boxing if you haven't noticed I know yeah you know they gravitate towards they you know so there were guys I knew but they gravitate towards it because of kind of the same reason actors gravitate to what we talked about earlier they they think that you know there's there's something to this facing things being a man you know and it doesn't mean there is unless you are unless you are this is gonna bless it now with you man they surely this has been a blessing now and talking to you man you just a very real guy and the story when you start off with your father I immediately connected with you because my dad I'll tell you a crazy story you're so Middle Eastern fathers there is no I love you Teddy there is none of that it's it's just you're not working hard enough you got to go do something with your life when you're gonna get your act to get it's a lot of that right so I get out of the military and since since I was a kid man I enjoy this guy's company you would leave five o'clock in the morning would come home at nine o'clock so it's always a similar way of trying to get this guy's attention to say hey what do you think about your son here so one day I come out of the army and I'm working at Bally's the night before I go to it out to his house and I said listen I got to tell you something says what I say you gotta tell me you love me it says what are you talking about I said tell me I love you he says you have become an American what is this Americans I said tell me you love me I'm your son I said we got to hear it from you he says I'm not gonna tell you I love you you know I love you I said dad I'm telling you right now I want to hear it he says Gus this is crazy this is crazy how did you become like this so I leave I go to work the next day my dad never calls my work ever I get a call Patrick made David line one that's your father like my dad don't call me so pick up the phone I say hey what's up yeah yeah how you doing good I'm at work okay all right that's good you're working okay I love you click so that my sister calls me she says is that health Oh cancer why so he just call me and now today you know the guys you can't help him sell but tell you know you one of my luckiest moments is the fact that my kids are close to this guy you know it's heaven on earth seen those moments so yeah I appreciate you opening government I truly wasn't expecting this interview go to this direction but I had a blast with you the last name change truly no really man I really enjoyed this and everybody watching this and I was just told that his book Atlas you got to get it the audible version just came out right we're gonna put the link below for you to go download the audible version and it's him speaking it's Teddy's voice speaking and then on top of that he also has a charity that he started due to his father we're gonna put the link below as well free to find out more about it and if we're gonna put Teddy social media as well if you want to go give him love after watching his weather is Twitter matter we'll put his handle and my handle here sent us a tweet and let us know was your biggest takeaway from this interview about Teddy appreciate you so much for coming up you really enjoyed it thank you you [Music]

Channel: Valuetainment

Views: 304,761

Rating: 4.7645497 out of 5

Keywords: teddy atlas, patrick bet david, sammy gravano teddy atlas, teddy atlas best moments, coach teddy atlas, teddy atlas patrick bet david, valuetainment, teddy valuetainment

Id: Y7BV6PJMP5A

Length: 102min 52sec (6172 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 06 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/moosedonair]

Opens up? He has been pretty open about his thoughts on Tyson for the past 20 years. I doubt this interview is opening up anything new.

[u/_Sarcasmic_]

Think he ever gets tired of being asked about Tyson?

[u/DJaySteff]

Lol he’s been talking about this shit for 20 years

[u/Creepyqueries]

He keeps bringing up Tyson lacking character and will, but Tyson was not in proper fighting shape and had a motivated Buster beating the shit out of him. He did not quit and fought back until the end. He knocked Buster down the round before he was finished.

He was hurt knocked down and had one eye swollen, yet he reached for his mouth piece and tried to make the count.

[u/slickvik9]

Made a career out of a short time hanging around Cus D'Amato.

[u/mystonedalt]

Teddy Atlas can keep his fucking mouth shut when it comes to Tyson.

[u/Tabeyloccs]

What can be said that hasn’t already been said lmao. It’s been an open book for a long time now.

[u/Creepyqueries]

This guy has good insights into boxing but I ncan never fully believe anything he says because he throws lies in when talking about Tyson.

His insight about silent agreements is very interesting and very true.

He said Tyson would make silent agreements in sparring. That could be true or another one of his Tyson lies. He was 15 so either way it is a bad habit that could be cut out.

His point about Tyson never being tested is not good because he stopped training properly. He still put up a good fight in the Buster match

[u/Fowlesy]

I’m your host Teddy Atlas and welcome to another episode of old man shouts metaphors and repeats himself