Cus D’ Amato!
Constantine “Cus” D’Amato (January 17, 1908 – November 4, 1985) was an American boxing manager and trainer who handled the careers of Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José Torres, all of whom went on to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[1] Several successful boxing trainers, including Teddy Atlas and Kevin Rooney, were tutored by D’Amato. He was a proponent of the peek-a-boo style of boxing, in which the fighter holds his gloves close to his cheeks and pulls his arms tight against his torso, which was criticized by some because it was believed that an efficient attack could not be launched from it.[2][3]
Constantine D’Amato was born into an Italian-American family in the New York City borough of the Bronx on January 17, 1908.[4] His father, Damiano, delivered ice and coal in the Bronx using a horse and cart.[5] At a young age, D’Amato became very involved and interested in Catholicism, and even considered becoming a priest during his youth. He had a brief career as an amateur boxer, fighting as a featherweight and lightweight, but was unable to get a professional license because of an eye injury he had suffered in a street fight.[5] This was documented in the biographic novel Confusing The Enemy.[6]
At age 22, D’Amato opened the Empire Sporting Club with Jack Barrow at the Gramercy Gym.[4] He lived in the gym for years. According to D’Amato, he spent his time at the gym waiting for a “champion”, but his best fighters were routinely poached by “connected” managers. One fighter discovered by D’Amato was Italian-American Rocky Graziano, who signed with other trainers and managers and went on to become middleweight champion of the world.[2] D’Amato also confronted boxing politics and decided, along with his friend Howard Cosell, to thwart the International Boxing Club of New York (IBC). Suspicious to the point of paranoia, he refused to match his fighter in any bout promoted by the IBC.[4] The IBC was eventually found to be in violation of anti-trust laws and was dissolved.[4][7]
In the early 1970s, while looking for a mansion big enough to accommodate about 12 of his most aspiring trainees and occasionally receive around 50 others, D’Amato (then in his 60s) met his wife-to-be Camille Ewald; she was thinking about selling her house, a 14-room Victorian mansion, after her family left. D’Amato came around and made a proposition to her. He oversaw all the training and managing of his fighters, while she was responsible for cooking and household chores.[8]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cus_D%27Amato
