The Man Who Forged Iron Mike

Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history at just 20 years old. But the man who helped prepare him for that moment wasn’t there to see it. Cus D’Amato was more than Mike Tyson’s trainer. He became a mentor, father figure and the person who helped shape the mindset behind one of boxing’s most feared fighters. This is the story of Cus D’Amato and the making of Iron Mike — from Tyson’s troubled childhood and introduction to Cus, through the intense training that transformed him, to the night Tyson captured the heavyweight championship. But there’s a heartbreaking part of the story: Cus D’Amato died in 1985, just over a year before Tyson became heavyweight champion. How did Cus see something in a troubled teenager that others couldn’t? And how did that relationship help create one of the most famous fighters in boxing history? With Netflix’s new TYSON documentary series arriving October 13, 2026, this is the story behind the man who helped shape Mike Tyson.