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05/21/2006 Archived Entry: "Harper Collins Publishes 'Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring'"
Harper Collins Publishes 'Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring:
A Son's Struggle to Become a Man
By Teddy Atlas and Peter Alson
Suffused with the unique wisdom of the legendary Cus D’ Amato, ATLAS is a vividly written, intimately detailed and moving memoir of a life in boxing.
—Joyce Carol Oates
Walk into any boxing gym and you’ll encounter as many stories as there are sweaty guys hitting the heavy bag, or bright-eyed kids dreaming of Golden Gloves glory.
But few are as compelling as that of Teddy Atlas, a hotheaded young thug who turned his life around and wound up training a heavyweight champion of the world, earning a reputation for loyalty and integrity in a business not known for either, and forming The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation. In Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man, the renowned boxing trainer and ESPN’s Friday Night Fights color commentator recounts his remarkable story, imparting the lessons learned over a lifetime of battling tough odds while remaining true to his principles.
Atlas’s character was forged on the streets of Staten Island, where he acted out his rage at his father, an emotionally withholding doctor who sacrificed his family life in service of the community. Following a stint in prison for a botched robbery, a friend invited Atlas up to the Catskills to train with the legendary Cus D’Amato. After winning the Golden Gloves, his promising boxing career was sidelined by a back injury. It was then that the shrewd D’Amato began grooming him as a trainer. Atlas was a born teacher—someone with the strength, courage, and wisdom to inspire others to greatness, but when Cus turned into “Frankenstein creating his monster”— a promising teen-ager named Mike Tyson— despite an investment of four years of time and training, Atlas refused to work with him further, disgusted by what he saw Tyson becoming.
Teddy Atlas is no pushover: He pulled a gun on Tyson when the disrespectful teen sexually harassed his sister-in-law, and he turned down a percentage of the budding superstar’s future ring earnings, offered to him as hush money. In addition to these fascinating behind-the-scenes boxing anecdotes, Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man is also an inspiring story of triumph over fear. “The act of fighting, of facing what you have to face, in reality only lasts a few minutes,” says Atlas. “The consequences of quitting stay with you forever, and that is what most people don’t realize.”
Atlas didn’t just turn his own life around; he has helped many others do the same, from picked-on kids like Mane Moore, who overcame his fears to garner his own small piece of boxing glory, to the paraplegic friend whom he coached into walking again. His pep talks between rounds are the stuff of legend, arguably spelling the difference between victory and defeat, such as when he brought Michael Moorer to the World Heavy Weight Championship. Atlas: A Son’s Journey also includes unexpected anecdotes of training Twyla Tharp, Willem Dafoe, and Sammy “the Bull” Gravano.
And then there are the many people aided by the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation: A fitting tribute to the father who devoted himself to helping others. The organization, established by Teddy Atlas in 1997, aids individuals directly without bureaucratic delays, providing cash, medical equipment and grants, scholarships, and more. The Foundation also runs a food pantry for the community once a week. It practices old-fashioned, straight-talking compassion, just like Atlas himself.
Atlas’s commitment to the truth is unwavering, and his memoir is all the more moving for its unflinching honesty. “It’s gotten me in trouble on occasion,” he says, “but if I see something going on that isn’t right, I’m gonna talk about it.” Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring is about what isn’t right—and about so much that is.
About the Author
Teddy Atlas is a color commentator for ESPN Friday Night Fights; he has worked as a boxing commentator for NBC’s coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Dan Dierdorf . He has spoken at schools, prisons, and at gang intervention sessions for the NYPD. He is the founder and Chairman of the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas charitable foundation. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Ecco
May 2006
Non Fiction
Memoir/Sports
Pg. 288
6 X 9”
Illustrations: 8 pages b & w insert
ISBN: 0-06-054240-3
