"Atlas owes Tyson his notoriety" - Fans react to vintage picture of Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas resurfacing online

Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas have a checkered past. Atlas was an assistant coach under the legendary Cus D'Amato and trained a very young 'Iron' Mike a few years before his professional boxing debut.

However, things went sour between the pair when then 15-year-old Tyson had an inappropriate interaction with Atlas' niece, which ended up in the trainer pulling a gun on the young boxer.

The incident soured the relationship between Tyson and Atlas, so much so that the former left D'Amato's camp and began training on his own. Now, a photo of the pair before the unfortunate incident he began being circulated on the internet.

In the image, a young Mike Tyson can be seen holding a trophy with Teddy Atlas standing next to him with a proud smile.

Take a look at the photo:

BOOxing History 🎃👻

@BoxingHistory

Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas.

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Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas. https://t.co/Md08VOcehK

Following his departure from D'Amato's camp, Atlas went on to become a great trainer in his own right. He's trained 18 world champion boxers, including the likes of Shannon Briggs, Donny Lalonde, Simon Brown and Joey Gamache.

Teddy Atlas and Mike Tyson are still not on the best terms and the trainer does not have a good opinion of 'Iron' Mike, even now.

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Twitter reacts to the vintage photo of Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas

Fans who saw the photo wondered what could have been had Atlas and Tyson stayed together for longer and worked through their differences.

Atlas could have taken over the reigns after D'Amato's death and guided 'Iron' Mike for a few more years to come. One user believes that the trainer owes Mike Tyson for his notoriety.

"Atlas owes Tyson his notoriety."

Another user defended Atlas, saying:

"Not sure if Tyson was responsible for 18 world champions trained by @TeddyAtlasReal"

Robert H

@RobertHern12

@BoxingHistory Atlas owes Tyson his notoriety.

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@BoxingHistory Atlas owes Tyson his notoriety.

Natural Born Critic

@LuizCr2

@RobertHern12 @BoxingHistory Not sure if Tyson was responsible for 18 world champions trained by @TeddyAtlasReal

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@RobertHern12 @BoxingHistory Not sure if Tyson was responsible for 18 world champions trained by @TeddyAtlasReal

One user suggested that Tyson could have remained champion for a longer time if Atlas stayed with him:

"To bad things didn’t work out for both of them together, Tyson would of been champion a lot longer if teddy had worked out no doubt"

ultra mega king follower

@ShawnMcginnity1

@BoxingHistory To bad things didn’t work out for both of them together,Tyson would of been champion a lot longer if teddy had worked out no doubt

2

@BoxingHistory To bad things didn’t work out for both of them together,Tyson would of been champion a lot longer if teddy had worked out no doubt

Another Twitter user expressed sadness at what happened between the two:

"This was a critical relationship for both men and it's so sad what happened"

Natural Born Critic

@LuizCr2

@BoxingHistory This was a critical relationship for both men and it's so sad what happened

@BoxingHistory This was a critical relationship for both men and it's so sad what happened

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