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FIRST THOUGHTS

I really look forward to read this book! I think is it very interesting to understand the person who played a big part in the great Mike Tyson’s success and several other boxers like Floyd Patterson.

This is the first boxing book that I read, and I’m happy that it is about the best trainer that has ever lived: Cus D’Amato. The first boxing trainer who not only was great at teaching the fundamentals of boxing, but also understood the importance of a fighter’s mindset, confidence and relationship to fear.

INTRODUCTION

• Constantine ‘Cus’ D’Amato was born on January 17th 1908 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He came from a though italian family
  • One of the first lesson the young Cus has learned early on, is when he saw his father stand up to the thugs that tried to intimidate him at work
  • At the age of 16, he fasted for four days, and often slept on the floor, just to force himself into though environments and build his confidence in any situation
  • At 25, he opened the Empire Sporting Club with his partner Jack Barrow ; a boxing gym intended to develop young boxers
  • At first, Cus wanted to become a boxer, but his dream died after being left partially blind because of a street fight
  • Cus understood what it is like to grow up in struggle and pain
• He used to see the potential of kids for greatness and success and take them from the ghettos of New-York and invite them to live in his Victorian house
• Cus enjoyed learning about big historical figures like Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte and Mark Twain and teaching his fighters about them
• Cus proved his great character by standing up against the International Boxing Club of New York (IBC), a corporation alleged to be corrupt and have mafia ties and connections 
• Cus’ first famous boxing champion was Floyd Patterson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world at 21 and who used the peekaboo style
• His first contact with Mike Tyson was when he took him from the Tryon juvenile detention school
  • He died 5 years after he took Mike in, in 1985, a year before the boxer became champion of the youngest heavyweight champion of the world, at 20 (beating Patterson’s record)

THE CHARACTER OF CHAMPIONS

• Cus did not consider himself as a creator, but as a person who uncovers and discovers

Boxing is a contest of character and ingenuity. The boxer with more will, determination, desire, and intelligence is always the one who comes on the victor.

Cus D’Amato

• Cus never starts teaching a boxer to fight until he learns about the person’s emotional state, his backround, and how many layers he needs to peel off before getting to the core of the person
• The trainer did not believe in talent, but in practise and training
• Even if a certain amount of pain and suffering is good for a person’s character, learning about other’s past experiences is smart
• No matter how good a fighter is, the aspect that will determine his success is their mentality
• He considered that boxing is 75% mental
• As your belief grows, so does the perception of yourself and your confidence
• The mind is like a limiting cap that will determine what you are able to execute physically.
• Discipline is the ability to do what needs to be done, even when you do not feel like doing it.
  • Give up what you feel is important, for a cause that you feel is more important
• The emotional state of a fighter (the importance of fighting emotionless) will determine your ability to perform
• Determining your why

FEAR: YOUR FIRE AND FRIEND

• A fighter has to know fear
• Fear is the greatest obstacle you need to overcome in order to enter a state of learning
• Nature gave us fear in order to survive and thrive, that is why fear is our ally, our friend, not our ennemy
• A fighter who does not experience fear is either a liar or a psychopath

• In a fight, only one person deserves to win. You have to know that you’re the one who deserves to get your hand raised because you trained harder, you sparred harder, you ran farther
• Cus believed that when a fighter enters the ring with the fear of being hit, he actually increases the chances of this reality. This is because he has emitted a thought and a vision in his head, much the same way that a fighter with belief does.
  • Uncontrolled fear decreases your abilities and your sense of anticipation
  • When you get hit, that’s when you gotta be calmest !
• The fearful fighter feels that he is worth of losing ; that there is a possible scenario in which he may fail
• The risk will always be there, so it is better to switch your perspective of it to one that is beneficial. You must understand fear so you can manipulate it.
• Everything tht is a part of your life should be made to work in your favour, in one way or another
  • Look at fear as a familiar friend in your mind, meant to keep you safe and alive
• As long as the pain is short term, there is a small price to pay for the benefit
  • In order to gain new skills in boxing, your mind needs to be free of anything potentially holding it back
• YOU NEED TO KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOUR FEARS ARE, IN ORDER TO CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF THEM
  • Label those fears as ‘unproductive’
• It becomes easier to accept fear when we acknowledge that every fighter in history had fear inside them too
• THE MORE YOU FEAR, THE MORE YOU MANIFEST YOUR OWN DEFEAT
• Win or lose, never take it personal. Keep going.

ANXIOUS ANTICIPATIONS OF THE ATHLETE

• A fighter has to understand that whatever emotions they are going through before a fight, their opponent went through the same thing
• Nothing is ever as bad as the imagination makes it, not even death

A person doesn’t realize what’s making him nervous unless he understands why he’s getting scared, which is the natural, normal thing. When he understands it he accepts it as such.

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• Visualisation makes the mind familiar with the whole prossess leading up to a fight to the fight itself
• What you think is what you are
  • A fighter can either think from a positive mental zone or a negative zone
• Mental stamina is as important as physical stamina

REMARKABLES RISE TO RESISTANCE

• Losers are winners who quit, even if you lose, you still win if you don’t quit.
• Boxing is often more a contest of will rather than skill. The strongest will will usually overcome skill
• Challenges give the fighter an opportunity to show championship qualities such as resilience, persistence and determination
• The ring is your stage. The perfect platform on which you can showcase your ambitious personality

LEADERSHIP

• Believe in yourself. People can feel it when you don’t
• A leader is a master of his fate
• A leader has a clear understanding of who they are
• Conviction is what will bring revolutionary changes in your environment ; the world will then seem to be a canvas, which you can paint your own personal art on
  • You need to believe in your actions so much to the extent that you are willing to stand alone in your actions in need be, even in the face of criticism
• The road to glory and mastery is a long path that filter out those who are not serious enough about their ambitions
• The purpose needs to be bigger than the champion itself

CONCLUSION

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the legendary Cus D’Amato and the powerful principles he lived by. As someone who already practices boxing competitively, I found it incredibly insightful and helpful to explore the psychological challenges fighters face—both inside and outside the ring. This book offered a deeper understanding of the mental game behind the sport, which is truly helpful for anyone who is ever willing to step into the squared circle.

About Cus D’Amato, you may also want to read :

A Boxing Legend’s Memory Lives on 14th Street – Village Preservation