Mike Tyson once worked under the tutelage of a man who wore suits and the look of a sage.
That was Cus D’Amato, the famed trainer who more than 40 years ago molded Tyson into the fighter who at age 20 became the youngest world heavyweight champion.
The job of preparing Tyson to step back into the ring at 58 and fight Jake Paul on Friday rests with Rafael Cordeiro and Billy White. They lack D’Amato’s boxing pedigree. But with the legendary trainer long since deceased, Cordeiro and White have earned Tyson’s trust.
White trained under D’Amato starting in the 1970s. Cordeiro is a celebrated trainer in the world of mixed martial arts.
“They work like a dream team together,’’ Tyson told USA TODAY Sports.
Cordeiro, 51, and White, 64, prepared Tyson for his exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. The eight-round bout, scored by celebrity judges, ended in a split draw. And when the Tyson-Paul fight was announced in March, the pair of trainers soon resumed their work.
Cordeiro holds the mitts – and holds on to dear life – when Tyson unleashes ferocious punches. He also confers with White, who stands outside the ring and offers the instruction he learned from D’Amato.
“Totally different form of training,’’ Tyson said when asked how his current trainers compare to D’Amato, “but still great.’’
Mike Tyson leans on Cus D’Amato disciples
In Catskill, New York, inside a boxing gym that sat on top of the police department, D’Amato taught more than boxing. He imparted a philosophy that wedded brains and brawn and included an affirmation coined by Frenchman Emile Coue.
Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.
As D’Amato disciples, Tyson and White were trained in the peek-a-boo fighting style that Tyson made famous, the use of speed and leverage and the development of the mind.
“Billy gives Mike this sense of security and familiarity through the old days and to Cus,’’ said Brad Rowe, who served as Tyson’s strength and conditioning coach when Tyson was training for his exhibition with Jones. “So even though Billy might not be in most people’s eyes this revered trainer, it’s someone that Mike fully trusts, fully opens up to. And that’s just as important as anything else.’’
Tyson and White have blended the old school and new school. For example, the Willy Bag – a D’Amato invention that aids boxers learning punching combinations – is mounted in Tyson’s sleek gym in the Las Vegas area.
White is a living reminder of everything else from the gym in Catskill.
What Mike Tyson gets from Rafael Cordeiro
The Harvard of boxing schools, Cordeiro has said of the style D’Amato taught. The Brazilian coach best known for teaching striking has become a student.
The lessons are taught by Tyson and White.
“I know when we were working together, (Cordeiro) immersed himself in learning about boxing a little more deeply than his understanding had been,’’ Rowe said.
Tyson and Cordeiro met in 2020 through Robert Hickman, then overseeing Tyson’s cannabis business interests and well connected in MMA. At the time, Tyson was boxing in Hickman’s garage, according to Hickman.
“I said, ‘Why don’t we have Rafael come down and hang out with you and play around?’ ” Hickman told USA TODAY Sports. “And so that’s the earliest footage I got. I put together a little piece (of video) and put it out on social and it blew up.’’
What lasted longer than the video is the relationship between Tyson and Cordeiro, who is armed with a contagious smile and almost unshakable optimism.
Cordeiro brings more than good energy.
A former fighter, he has trained at least 10 former MMA champions, including Anderson Silva and Cris Cyborg.
The world’s greatest trainer, White has called Cordeiro.
Mike Tyson brings in new support
The new additions to Team Tyson are Andy Velcich, a body builder and personal trainer, and Tony Brady, a strength and conditioning coach.
Velcich, 34, operates an electrical stimulation machine that’s hooked up to Tyson during some of the boxer’s workouts. It was a role once occupied by Rowe, who parted ways with Tyson after the Jones exhibition.
Brady is well known in boxing circles. His clients include Mario Barrios, who on Friday will be fighting on the Tyson-Paul card for the WBC interim world welterweight title. Other boxers with whom Brady has worked are Andre Ward, a former world champion in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions; Caleb Plant, a former IBF super middleweight champion; and Amir Khan, a former light-welterweight world champion.
Videos of Tyson’s training show Velcich and Brady working in tandem, not unlike what White and Cordeiro do.
Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11