Mike Tyson Could Knock Opponents 'Dead' Even In Exhibitions, Former Trainer Says

Mike Tyson’s former trainer, Teddy Atlas, said he has seen his former pupil almost knocking opponents “dead” in exhibition bouts, suggesting things may not end well for Roy Jones Jr. in their upcoming fight.

Aside from Cus D’Amato, Atlas was one of the people behind the success of “Iron Mike.” He trained Tyson from a very young age and used to put his young fighter in various exhibition matches. Having mentored Tyson since the boxer was 12 years old, Atlas knows what the former heavyweight champ is capable of inside the ring.

In a recent episode of his podcast, “The Fight with Teddy Atlas,” the 64-year-old sent a stern warning to Jones, Tyson’s opponent in his highly-anticipated eight-round exhibition match, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 12 in California.

Atlas said he had personally witnessed how Tyson fought even in exhibitions. Based on the trainer’s assessment, most of the fights didn’t “end well for the other guy.”

“Like I said, I’ve been to exhibitions with Mike Tyson and they didn’t end well for the other guy. It was an exhibition of how fast he could hit you on the chin and knock you dead,” he recalled.

Tyson fought in the heavyweight division his entire career. Jones, on the other hand, dominated multiple weight classes, including super middleweight, cruiserweight and light heavyweight. But despite being naturally lighter in weight, the 51-year-old still thinks he can outlast Tyson, whom he recently compared to former WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder.

“Just like Mike Tyson, if you don’t watch ‘em, they’ll hit you with that right hand, you gon’ have a problem. Other than that though, you can deal with [Wilder] him too,” Jones said.

Ahead of the Tyson vs. Jones exhibition match, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reported that contrary to what most fight fans are expecting, Tyson and Jones will be “wearing bigger gloves to protect each other and won’t be trying to knock each other out.”

However, the bout is still being promoted and even put on pay-per-view like a professional fight.

Another recent announcement about the fight seemed to have disappointed the fans. Instead of taking place on Sept. 12, Tyson vs. Jones has been officially postponed and moved to November. The new tentative date for the event is Nov. 28, Mike Coppinger of The Athletic reported.