Cus D’Amato’s Boxing Gym: 30 Years After the Founder’s Death – Chapter III

By Simon “Simon Says” Traversy

Introduction

Christopher Nolan did a really good job rebooting the Batman franchise. I believe that other than the sublime acting level, giving it a darker, more realistic tone was the key to its success. The campiness of Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin coupled with the cheesy one-liners (‘’Cööl party!”) and several oxymoron such as “freeze in Hëll Batman!”) courtesy of yours truly Arnold Schwarzenneger, gave severe heartburn to even the biggest of fans (yup, those who weight 6 hours in line dressed up as their favourite superheroes at ComiCon events). I won’t lie or play the hypocrite: the geekness is strong with me as well, but even my pain thresholds have their limitations. Nolan, however, shot his trilogy in a smart way. He put extra emphasis on the background story and especially on the psychology of Bruce Wayne rather than putting the entire spotlight on his alter-ego and the ass-kickery.

Psychology, remember that.

Usually superheroes claim that they disguise themselves to conceal their true identities and protect their loved ones. Of course that is also true for the Batman. However Bruce Wayne provides a far more insightful answer. He says that the reason he became the Batman was because he thought the people of the city needed a symbol to relate to; a symbol which would strike fear in the hearts of those who preyed on the fearful. He finally adds that although he’s got the money and the connections, his quest to rid his city of crime wouldn’t work as Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne is but a (mortal) man, whereas a symbol may be eternal and cannot be destroyed. Therefore only a strong symbol would be able to shake the (good) people (who do nothing) out of their apathy.

Apathy, remember that.

In my first two articles, I broke the Omertà code and debunked a few myths, half-truths and misconceptions in regards to the Catskill gym founded by boxing genius Cus D’Amato. In my first piece, I described how badly in shape the gym was. In the second, I’ve pointed out a few underlying causes which led to this reality by taking a stroll down memory lane. In this third and temporary final chapter* (because history is still in the making), we will discuss the consequences of such causes and try to find a few solutions in order to save the gym and keep D’Amato’s memory alive. Enjoy.

Recap

Cus D’Amato is dead. Mike Tyson left 27 years ago. And Kevin Rooney is out of commission seemingly for good.That’s about it.

A Ship without a Captain

Imagine you’re on a pirate boat. The first mate decides to mutiny against his captain. A battle erupts with people on both sides with guns blazing and swords clashing. Now, what happens if the captain and the mutinying first mate end up killing each other? Sounds stupid, right? I mean I personally never read a story with such an outcome. But just imagine the awkward moment between the battling pirates. Like, who do they follow from that point on? Who leads? Where do they go? What do they do? And from that point on, you can bet that there will be more turmoil, disagreements and discord. That’s exactly what happens when you have no leader. Kevin Rooney, by his own hand, appointed himself as the man in charge. Displeased and disenchanted by his way of handling and not handling things, The Catskill Board of Trustees made him a persona non-grata and gave him the boot. Sounds familiar? His health would not have allowed him to stick around much longer anyway. And that’s how things have been for almost two years now. People are coming and going. The numbers [of members] are low. The trainers and those closely involved or from afar are all doing their own thing based on their own private agendas and personal sense of entitlement. And that’s that. There is no unity or direction and that causes ambiguity which in turn causes unrest and poor resultds. That’s the problem.

The Gym’s Financial State

Cus D’Amato was a man who never really cared for money or materialistic possessions. When he opened his gym in the 70’s, he rented it out for a symbolic dollar a year. Kids didn’t have to pay as long as they did well in school and behaved at home. Some sources say it was the same for teens and adults as well. You have to understand two things: at that point in his life, Cus had been out of the game for quite some time already and was slipping into old age, therefore there was really no reason to believe that he was going to get back in the game. And then Mike Tyson showed up at his doorstep, literally bringing D’Amato back to life. After D’Amato met Tyson and saw the promise in him, he took him under his wing. However D’Amato was broke and destitute, but he had a friend with deep pockets. Jim Jacobs. The deal was simple: Cus would make sure that Tyson would stick to the game plan, and Jacobs would make sure that D’Amato had everything he needed to help him bring Tyson as far as he could. In plain English, it meant that whenever Cus needed money to pay for Tyson’s expenses, Jacobs would take care of it. D’Amato was also making a bit of money off some of the kids who lived under his roof. All that to say that money wasn’t an issue back then and it never was in D’Amato’s mind anyways. Today there’s no more Jim Jacobs to act as the gym’s personal piggy bank. There is obviously no more “boxing boarding school” either. The initial deal Cus had with the town of Catskill is still being honoured by the Catskill Board of Trustees, but the only problem is that over 40 years have passed since Cus D’Amato opened the gym’s doors for the first time, and very little has been done to keep it in tip top shape or to keep the Board members eager and interested. The other thing is that when D’Amato opened the gym in the early 70’s, it was just a gym. It could’ve closed down at any point in time before Bobby Stewart showed up with Mike Tyson, and it would not have made much of a difference. Not in boxing history or in D’Amato’s mind anyways. The situation is different today. The gym has a sentimental value attached to it. Fans still relate to it strongly. I know this much because I receive emails on a daily basis from people living domestically and abroad who wish to travel to Catskill just for the sake of learning Cus’ style in the very same gym Mike Tyson trained in.

Recession

It’s no secret that whenever the economy takes a hit, it affects everybody. However smaller towns and villages always seem to feel the blow more than bigger cities. The neighboring city of Sullivan had an unemployment rate which was in the double digits when the recession first hit the US in 2008. Generally-speaking, recessions aren’t good for businesses, at least not for boxing gyms.

The University Teacher & Communism

You might have read the story of that economics teacher who flunked his entire class to prove that extreme socialism may work in theory, but not in practicality. To prove his point, he said at the beginning of the semester that all grades would be averaged. Long story short, those who normally studied and expected to get an A under normal circumstances, simply stopped studying after the result of the first exam (B) because they didn’t see the point of breaking their backs cramming only to not reap the fruits of their hard labour. Makes sense right? Meanwhile those who normally slacked off and failed not only passed, but actually received a grade that far exceeded their expectations. Laughing their heads off, they obviously didn’t see the point of making any bigger an effort for the second exam. By exam number two, the average dropped to a D. The book worms were pissed, but still wouldn’t study because the point remained the same; and the slackers still wouldn’t study, because they had passed again in spite of the drop. By exam number three, everybody had failed (F).

No Money, No Candy

The above-mentioned story has been disputed, but that’s not the point which I was trying to make. The point was that whenever you allow someone to leech on you, whenever you’re willing to give someone a free piggyback ride, well guess what? He/she/they will take it. Translating this to the gym in Catskill, by not charging ‘’members’’ anything from the get-go, the gym was set to failure in the long run. When things are free, when things are spoon-fed to us, when things come to us easily and effortlessly instead of working our backsides off to go get what we want, we don’t appreciate the value of those things and if we did initially, we eventually begin to take those things for granted when they become easily attainable. Consequently receiving something without truly earning and/or deserving it doesn’t teach us gratitude or merit. I make peanuts for a living, I’m not going to hide it. Even though I don’t pay for classes (I am writing a book and hustling for the gym after all), I know that every time I travel to Catskill for a week-end, I won’t get away with it under at least 250$. And you know what, it’s totally okay. Actually it’s more than okay. Man, the first time I went down to Catskill, I was like a kid in a candy store. I went on Steve Lott’s Boxing Hall of Fame YouTube channel and watched all the Mike Tyson, Jose Torres, and Floyd Patterson videos I could get my hands on. You know what I’m talking about because you did it too, and you still do. I trained every day religiously, day in, day out. When I didn’t feel like getting out of bed to go to work, that trip became my main motivation. The knowledge that I had to work that ‘’ X’’ amount of overtime to be able to afford it is what made it so special. There’s no merit or sense of reward without hardships and failure. If I lived in Catskill, and if the gym was so accessible that all I’d have to do to train (free of charge) was walk out of my house and cross the street, I’m not sure I’d appreciate it as much I do now. I’m not sure I’d look forward to it just as much, or that I’d savour it as much as I do now. Heck maybe I’d end up quitting altogether at some point because the very fact of knowing that the gym is always right there and that I don’t have to do anything else other than showing up, is exactly the kind of reality which would make me take the gym for granted. And that would make me lose interest in the long run because I don’t know for you, but when there is no challenge, I tend to get bored. If the gym still had a Jim Jacobs, I would’ve sparred myself writing this paragraph. But unfortunately that’s not the case, so the gym must find other alternatives in order to generate income. Without money, nothing can be done. No repairs, no advertising. Nada. No money, no candy.

What needs to be done

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

The gym has been neglected for decades. Therefore fixing it in every single meaning of the word won’t happen overnight. Now if those wishing to get involved in this project join the movement only to expect a quick and easy handout, then the gym is really doomed to failure. Anyways altruism and expecting something in return do not go together. Moreover there can’t be any discord, turmoil, in-fighting, selfishness or hidden agendas of any kind if the gym is to thrive, let alone survive. The concerned parties need to sit down and discuss long-term alternatives. Only by rowing in the same direction and by constantly keeping the gym’s best interest at heart and in mind 24/7 can the gym be salvaged.

One Day, Everybody’s Gotta Pay

Following that same line of thought, members who join the gym will obviously have to pay. There is simply no way around it If I were the good Lord, I would multiply the Benjamins just like he multiplied the bread and the fish, and I would thus have saved myself a few more chapters to write. But unfortunately, I’m not Jesus. And unfortunately, we need money to run the gym. So until I meet a good-hearted recluse multi-millionaire who will act as the gym’s new Jim Jacobs, everybody must contribute, plain and simple. And I shouldn’t even have to justify why; the gym and its teachers offer you a service and all wish to provide you with all the commodities so you may get in the best shape possible. Well in exchange for that service, members have to literally pay their dues. Otherwise the gym will always find itself in the same predicament that it is now.

The Exception(s) that Proves the Rule

Yes, I was getting to that part. What happens if one day a poor little kid wearing second-hand Salvation Army clothes strolls into the gym full of hope, heart and determination? Are we going tell him or her to beat it and come back when he/she has got the money? You can put the violin away; we’re not cold-blooded, heartless sharks. If they can’t afford it, provided written proof of course, those who can’t contribute financially will contribute in other ways. We also wish to work something out for students, public servants etc. Everything is at an embryonic stage right now, but even though extreme socialism may not work in reality, doesn’t mean a hint of it wouldn’t go a long way. Besides, the broom isn’t going to sweep the floor on its own.

The Gym Exposed

The first order of business and the first thing at the top of the priority list should be to advertise the gym massively. Promoting it, promoting it and promoting it again is the best way to keep it in the limelight. Just to give you an example, since I’ve created the Facebook page for the gym, a guy from Canada and another from Cincinnati have already booked private lessons with George [Young]. And gyms from as far as Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Turkey have expressed interest in either training at the gym, or even inviting instructors over to teach the peek-a-boo style in their respective countries. So you see, the interest is definitely there, but if you don’t sell yourself, people won’t talk about you or what you have to offer. It’s as simple as that.

Branching out

They say that you can’t get blood out of a stone. Assuming everything has been attempted in order to save the gym and things still don’t work out; or on the contrary, assuming that things are going better than expected, than in both cases branching out could and should be a viable solution. Branching out and opening other satellite gyms outside of Catskill is probably the best way to preserve Cus D’Amato’s legacy. Of course it wouldn’t be the same thing as training in the gym where Mike Tyson, Teddy Atlas, Kevin Rooney and Cus D’Amato spent years of their lives teaching and honing their craft, but it’s still better to have the option of learning peek-a-boo somewhere else than not having the option at all. Like I said, I receive emails every day from enthusiasts from around the world who wish to learn the style. And nine times out of ten, the gym’s location is the number one [geographical] hindrance. That’s not only because the gym is located in a small village located in upstate New York, but also because there simply aren’t many gyms in the world who teach Cus’ style.

Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst

I’m not the only one hoping to bring the gym back to its glory days. Pro boxer Alvin Varmall Jr. also hopes to bring some sense of pride and dignity back to the gym. His handlers’ job is to keep Alvin focused and his eyes on the prize. In order to do that, they have got to make sure that he stays motivated and healthy physically, mentally and spiritually; and in turn, in order to do that, they have to keep a ‘’glass-full’’ attitude and remind him that one day, he will be a champion. Therefore, their job is to hope for the best. Everybody else’s job should be to plan for the worst and pretend the Alvin option does not exist. It’s not being pessimistic, far from it. It’s simply being realistic and pragmatic. By assuming that the Alvin option does not exist or nevertheless won’t work out, it will force them to constantly look for other alternatives instead of putting all their chips on him. Besides he doesn’t need that kind of pressure or burden. By thinking that way, one of the two options might be successful. And if it is, we all win. If both options are, champagne’s on me.

The Big Dogs Must Chip In

There are many reasons why people love Mike Tyson. As a boxer he was gifted, menacing, brutal, ferocious and spectacular. At his best and most famous, he could, and still can, prove to be thoughtful, caring, lovable and funny. At his worst and most infamous, he was blunt, crude, out of control, and controversial to say the least. But above all, I think the reason why people love Mike is because Mike is a survivor. Survival stories inspires people. In fact, he might very well be the best example of survival and perseverance that we can think of. I personally cannot think of another man who reached such highs and such lows in the very same lifetime. The idiom “been there, done that’’ is an understatement in his case. The various spectrums of life that he’s witnessed and experimented are simply surreal. Within the course of 25 years, he reached Mount Everest and sunk at the very bottom of the ocean right down Mariana’s Trench. With Tyson it’s always been all or nothing. And then, just like a phoenix, he found a way to rise again from the ashes. I’m glad he’s doing okay. Truly. The media has a way to blow things out of proportion and to jump on bad news like a pack of wolves on a piece of meat. When you carefully study Mike Tyson, you realize that he’s not the megalomaniac animal Cus D’Amato created to strike fear in the hearts of other fighters. The real Mike Tyson is the lovable one, the one who likes to hug, who loves people and needs to be loved back. I’m happy he found that person again. And I’m especially happy that he found his humanity again and reached a level of maturity that he didn’t have in his younger days which now enables him to find peace, balance and harmony in his life. Finally, I rejoice myself that both his autobiography and one-man show entitled The Undisputed Truth were knockouts and I hope that his next book will be as equally successful. But Mike, now that you’re doing well physically, mentally, spiritually and financially (maybe not as good as ‘’Money May’’ but more than me and most of us mere mortals that’s for sure), the gym needs your help. Writing this book with the help of George [Young] Billy [White] John [Colangelo], Brian [Shanagher] and your buddy Tom Patti (who’s going to be an outstanding supervisor) has allowed me to study you from different angles. You said that without Cus, without the mission and the path he put you on, you’d be a bum. But you’re not. Far from it. People still look up to you, people still admire you, kids and adults alike try to emulate you in gyms, and part of the credit goes to you, and part of the credit goes to Cus. The gym in which you trained for over almost a decade is falling apart and now, it needs you just like you needed it at some point in your life.

And You the Fans

Apathy. Remember that? Apathy is one of mankind’s greatest enemies. There’s simply nothing worse than that. If you tell me to my face that you like me, I will respect you for that. If you tell it to my face that you don’t, I will respect you for that just as much. But indifference, I simply can’t stand it. Why? Because you can never really know who you’re really dealing with, and therefore you can never really know if you can trust that person or not. Now as fans, there are two ways you can see and interpret everything I’ve written so far on the subject: either you make it the flavour of the week, and talk about how great Mike was and how much you’d like to go train with Kevin Rooney (proof that some people comment without reading), and a week from now, it will already be a distant memory. Or you can do something about it. You see, you too have your say in the matter and can make a difference in order to preserve Cus D’Amato’s pugilistic heritage. Joining the gym and/or booking private lessons with George is the best course of action on a short, medium and long-term basis. Building a website is also in the making. It would greatly promote the gym and allow you to get in touch with us more easily. Aficionados would therefore be able to book classes and even donate online via Paypal or credit card. I even intend on posting pictures and video footage of the gym’s progression while it is being renovated and improved to show you how much we mean business. Another way you can help is through word of mouth. Go to the gym but also talk about the gym. In certain situations, it’s good to run your mouth. One thing though that will NOT help preserve Cus’ memory is having a groupie casual try to teach peek-a-boo online, especially knowing he never stepped foot in a peek-a-boo gym or [physically] trained with a teacher who was extensively exposed to Cus’ style. In the long-run it doesn’t help the cause because the casual is obviously teaching the style wrong. And because ignorance is bliss, those of you who are “learning” it will think you’re learning it the “real deal” when it’s actually the other way around (not to mentioning that it’s plain insulting to those who actually went the whole nine yards to learn it properly). Don’t be lazy and don’t look for short-cuts. There is only one way of learning it right and that is to go to the gym and train with the Young bros. I’ve done it, still am, and I don’t even live in the same country. So can you.

The More, the Merrier

The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation is obviously a no-brainer in regards to helping the gym out. In his autobiography, Teddy Atlas said that the foundation he founded to honour the memory of his late father donates money for just about any cause, provided that the cause is a noble and honest one of course. Therefore of all the causes which he may hold dear, I really don’t fathom why, in my right mind, this one wouldn’t matter to him more than any other cause. Heck, I’m even giving a shout out to Matt Damon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnPWJOJYVKc). Why not? He does give a fecal matter about racial and social injustices and inequities and I find that the Catskill gym’s current state is definitely one [injustice]. So why not? I’m also giving a shout out to Marquee Mark Wahlberg, Denzel [Washington], Tom Brady, The Terminator, Sly (help Smoke’s gym first though), Paris (??), Kim Jong-un etc. Any other rich celebrity, powerful political leader (benevolent or tyrannical), or recluse billionaire, boxing fan or not, is also more than welcome to contribute. Beggars can’t be choosers anyway. And besides: the more, the merrier, right?

Bernard the Wise

Watching and listening to Bernard Hopkins warrants a redefinition of the expression: “respect for one’s elders’’. In boxing age, Hopkins is considered a dinosaur. And yet, less than a year ago he was the Unified Light Heavyweight champion of the world. And before he became ‘’ The Alien’’, ‘’ The Executioner’’ dominated the middleweight division for years. Hopkins has been a professional boxer for almost as long as I’ve been alive and I know guys younger than me who are already starting to go grey. When you’ve been thriving in such an unforgiving sport as boxing, a sport which weeds out the boys from the men, the weak from the strong, it’s safe to say that over a long enough period of time, anything you do is record-worthy, and everything you say can be turned into a memorable quote. Of the countless interviews Hopkins has blessed us with, he mentions that boxing today is plagued with many trainers, but blessed with very few teachers. When he said that, I couldn’t have agreed more. Some of you may wonder what the difference between a trainer and a teacher might be. The answer is quite simple. A trainer gives you generic drills and gives you the ‘’how-to’’ part because that’s how he’s been taught. He systematically passes on what’s been taught to him without necessarily knowing and understanding that what he knows (or think he knows) may be suitable to the student he is teaching. Therefore future generations are off to a shaky start from the get-go. The teacher on the other hand is adaptable, intuitive and perceptive. He’s aware of the “fine print” and he knows how to read between the lines. He understands that what (who) stands in front of him, will dictate how and what he will be teaching. In the light of that fact, the teacher thus always makes sure that his pupil fully understood the ‘’why’’ first before plunging into the ‘’how’’. Teaching the ‘’ how’’ without the ‘’why’’, especially in boxing, is nothing short of suicide. By deliberately or accidentally (which would be in the latter case blatant proof of pure ignorance and incompetence) omit to teach the “why”, you’re putting your protégé at serious risk. Moreover teaching the “why” is also a form of proof, a confirmation [to himself] that the teacher is indeed teaching the right thing and putting his fighter on the right path. When a pudgy but willing Joe Frazier, who stood no more than 5’10’’, showed up at the PAL (Police Athletic League) gym in 1962 with crooked left arm, do you seriously think Yank Durham bothered showing him how to work behind his jab, dance like a ballerina, or fight from the outside? Of course not. He taught Joe to work with the “tools” had had at hand; that is, to stay low in a crouch, to bob and weave to get close, and to bludgeon his opponents with that wrecking ball of a left hook. Equally-legendary trainer Eddie Futch, who was believed to be the true mastermind behind Joe Frazier’s training regimen, strategies and tactics even while Durham was still alive, said that a teacher must know his fighter like the back of his hand, including the fighter’s own limitations as well. That way, a trainer teaches his fighter to develop optimally his strengths, work on his weaknesses, and if a certain limitation cannot be overcome or improved; a trainer must be able to work around it. Cus D’Amato had a similar approach and philosophy. Cus D’Amato was the greatest mind in boxing because whenever he taught something, he always made sure to add the ‘’why’’ to the ‘’how’’. When you listen to his old Willie bag training tapes, when you listen to him supervise and correct Tyson during his training sessions, or when you listen to him speak at the dinner table during supper, he always makes sure to get his point across and that everybody understands what he is trying to explain. Of the three great fighters D’Amato trained in Patterson, torres and Tyson, none of them was trained exactly the same way. Moreover he implemented psychological warfare, positive reinforcement, hypnotherapy, reverse psychology and what-not to turn mentally-weak individuals into respected champions and successful people inside and outside the ring. Psychology, I told you to remember that. D’Amato gave hope and purpose to people who had none. A mere trainer can’t make a champion out of a fighter; only a teacher can do that. A teacher can transcend the realms and boundaries of his own line of work, a trainer can’t. For all those reasons, we must do whatever it takes to preserve that man’s legacy, and pass on his teachings to future generations.

A Cautionary tale

Cus D’Amato’s Boxing Gym and Joe Frazier’s Gym share something in common. They were both the homes of legends, they both had their golden years, they should both be considered landmarks in boxing history, but that is not the case for either or, far from it. Now they are slowly withering and dying. Joe Frazier’s Gym has been closed down by a tired and disillusioned Smokin’ Joe, who never had the acknowledgement he desired while he was still alive. Only in death is he finally starting to get the recognition he finally deserves. S’ironic, isn’t it? His arch-rival Muhammad Ali always pitched himself as the artist of the two (of them all should I say), yet it was Joe Frazier who was misunderstood, underappreciated, overlooked, and shunned for so many years while he was still alive. Now Joe Frazier’s Gym has been turned into a furniture store which is nothing short of a travesty, profanity and heresy in my own humble opinion. Unless there’s a telepath reading this who had the chance to probe Frazier’s mind before he passed, nobody really knew what was going on exactly in Joe’s head when he decided to close the gym down; especially knowing his son Marvis had plans to restore it from A to Z with the help of a few benevolent angel investors. Nevertheless, Frazier’s disillusion didn’t stem from nothing. The world chose Ali over Frazier because Ali was more vocal, extravagant and had a natural penchant for the theatrical. The world picked Ali because the Nation of Islam, through Ali, chose to blackball Frazier and use him as a scapegoat. Now thanks to the internet’s endless pool of information, the truth is only a few clicks away. Through countless hours of research, phone conversations, and Skype meetings, I wished to the same in regards to Cus D’Amato’s Boxing Gym. Hopefully Bernard Hopkins will do right by his initial intention to save Frazier’s gym. It would also be nice to see Marvis back in the gym and on the payroll again. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. On September 12th, instead of wasting 75$ on the Mayweather-Berto farce, why don’t you take the bus, train or plane to Phillie and witness the unveiling of the brand new Joe Frazier statue. Larry Holmes, Marvis (duh!) and co-author Jamie Potter should all be joining the party. As for the Catskill gym, its history is still in the making, and I hope you’ll be part of it.

Simon says: be there or be square.

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