Emotional Mike Tyson Visits Late Father Figure Cus D’Amato’s Grave

Ahead of one of the biggest fights of the year against Jake Paul, Mike Tyson took a deeply personal trip back to his roots in Catskill, New York, to honor his father figure and legendary boxing trainer, Cus D’Amato. For the sixth episode of Behind the Mike, viewers got a glimpse of Tyson revisiting key moments from his past that shaped him into the “Baddest Man on the Planet.”

The emotional trailer for the show posted on X featured Tyson interacting with several fans at Catskill, paying respect to his trainer Cus D’Amato, while celebrating his life. The episode titled—’Roots of Iron: Where Cus Built the Baddest Man on the Planet’—was released yesterday by Tyson on his YouTube channel.

Mike Tyson returns to his roots

The first thing that Tyson in the teaser did after reaching Catskill was visit Cus D’Amato’s grave and pay homage to him. He then proceeded to pour champagne on his headstone. Tyson stated, “This is our celebration!” while remembering the promise he made to his mentor to celebrate his heavyweight title victory with champagne.

Who was Mike Tyson’s legendary boxing trainer and father figure?

Cus D’Amato
Floyd Patterson
Jose Torress
Manny Steward

He also met some of his fans during his visit. One fan was awestruck by the boxing legend and stated that she would remember this moment for the rest of her life. Mike Tyson met with more people from the community as he stated emotionally, “I know everybody in all these houses,” showcasing his immense bond with the place where Iron Mike was forged decades ago.

He then met with the community leaders and interacted with girls from the local softball team. After that, the 58-year-old visited his school before turning to the gym where he was raised by Cus D’Amat. He stood in front of D’Amato’s poster and called his mentor the “King of the world.” 

He had a quick workout in the gym with several kids, as he provided some young kids with some crucial tips regarding the sport and even oversaw parts of their training. After clicking pictures with everyone in the gym, Tyson once again paid homage to his legendary trainer, stating that everything he had learned in life, came from Cus.

The man who shaped Tyson’s life

Cus D’Amato was a legendary boxing trainer famous for training legends like Floyd Patterson and Jose Torress. He not only focused on the physical aspect of the sport but also believed in psychological mastery, forging out some of the toughest boxers in history. Due to the vast knowledge of the sport he possessed, he was known as the philosopher of boxing.

D’Amato was not only Tyson’s trainer but was also his guardian after he legally adopted Mike Tyson when he was 16. D’Amato was the first father figure in Tyson’s life and under his watchful guidance, the latter started his professional boxing career. He engrained the qualities of discipline and hard work in the Brownsville, Brooklyn native and set him straight towards an honorable path.

Cus D’Amato was the man who formulated Mike Tyson’s famous peek-a-boo style. Unfortunately, D’Amato passed away on November 4, 1985, due to pneumonia at the age of 77. It was a huge mental shock to Mike Tyson, as he was once again left alone without anyone to rely on.

But with the teachings that D’Amato instilled, Tyson kept climbing the boxing world ladder. Within a year of D’Amato’s passing, Mike Tyson created history by becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever at 20 years old. Despite the marvelous achievement, Tyson in the “Mike Tyson: The Knockout” documentary accepted that he had never been the same after D’Amato’s passing and even stranded from the path a little. He has also stated that he used to miss D’Amato during the late 1980s when his professional and personal life began to get out of control from the immense success he had.

However, in recent years, Tyson has found peace with D’Amato’s passing and continues to honor his legacy. The lessons D’Amato taught him still guide Tyson’s decisions, both inside and outside the ring, as he reinvents himself in a way that would make his mentor proud.