Theodore A. "Teddy" Atlas Jr. (born July 29, 1956) is an American boxing trainer and fight commentator. Early life The son of a doctor, Atlas grew up in a wealthy area of Staten Island, New York City, New York. His mother, Mary Riley Atlas, was a former contestant in the Miss America pageant system, as well as a model. His father was of Hungarian Jewish ancestry and his mother of Irish descent. Atlas was raised in his mother's Catholic faith and spent summers in Spring Lake, New Jersey, with his family's friends. By his own admission, Atlas had a somewhat troubled, rebellious youth. He dropped out of school and was arrested several times. He participated in an armed robbery and served time on Rikers Island. Atlas was involved in a street fight in Stapleton, Staten Island, in which his face was severely slashed with a "007" flick knife. The wound took 400 stitches in total to close, with 200 on the outside of his face and 200 on the inside. The attack left him with a distinctive scar. Career Boxing trainer Atlas trained as an amateur boxer with Hall of Fame trainer Cus D'Amato. He had some amateur fights and won a 135-pound Golden Gloves title but had to turn to work as a trainer due to a back injury. Atlas was an assistant to D'Amato, although his role in the Catskill Boxing Club was short-lived. In 1980 he trained Sweden Olympic Boxing Team for 1980 Summer Olympics. His duties included assisting in the training of D'Amato's teenage protégé Mike Tyson. However, Atlas left the camp in 1982 following an altercation with the 15-year-old Tyson after Tyson had been sexually inappropriate with an 11-year-old female relative of Atlas' (Tyson said he had grabbed the girl's buttocks). Atlas put a .38 caliber handgun to Tyson's ear and told him to never touch his family again, or he would kill him if he did. This altercation between Atlas and a young Mike Tyson led to Atlas' dismissal from the Catskill Boxing Club, and he was told he was no longer welcome in D'Amato's home or around any of his adopted children (his fighters whom he had legally adopted, Tyson included). Atlas enjoyed his biggest success as head trainer to Michael Moorer, whom he guided to the world heavyweight title in 1994. He drew criticism for what some considered to be overly dramatic