Teddy Atlas
Teddy Atlas (b.
July 26,
1956, in
Staten Island,
New York) is a well-known boxing trainer and fight commentator.
Atlas had one amateur fight as a youth but quit due to his
scoliosis. He began his career as a trainer under the legendary
Cus D'Amato, who trained
Floyd Patterson and a young
Mike Tyson. Atlas was one of the first to predict that Tyson's character flaws would prevent him from ever being a great champion. He even predicted, a week before the fight, that Tyson would get disqualified in his rematch with
Evander Holyfield, which he did.
He enjoyed his greatest success as a head trainer with champions
Barry McGuigan and
Michael Moorer.
In 1997, he founded the Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation to honor the memory of his late father. The Foundation awards scholarships and grants to individuals and organizations.
Atlas worked as boxing commentator for NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004).
On May 1st 2006, Atlas' biography, "Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man" was written by Peter Alson. The book covers many different periods of Atlas's life, and compares his position as trainer to a role as a father.
Atlas currently serves as commentator on
ESPN2's
Friday Night Fights and
Wednesday Night Fights.
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Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation
