Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Interview With Kevin Rooney, Mike Tyson's Former Trainer

Aired June 02, 2002 - 11:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDIRCKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: What makes Mike Tyson go? We're going to talk to a man who says he knows Mike well. Kevin Rooney was Tyson's official trainer back in the '80s before Tyson fired him to go to work with boxing legend Don King, and Mr. Rooney joins us now from Albany, New York.

Mr. Rooney, you've known Tyson for an awful long time. You also used to, you know, practice fighting with him, in addition to both working under Tyson's late surrogate dad, Cus D'Amato. So you have seen the evolution of Mike Tyson in a very different way than most of us have seen him in the public. Does Mike Tyson need boxing or does boxing need Tyson?

KEVIN ROONEY, FORMER TYSON TRAINER: Well I think it's a combination of both. You know Mike was -- you know he was a sensational fighter. He was the youngest heavyweight champion ever at the age of -- he won his first title at 20 against Burbeck (ph) and then when they unified the titles, he beat Tony Tucker in '87. He officially became the youngest heavyweight champion ever.

Now the guy before that, Floyd Patterson, was also managed and trained by Cus D'Amato so, I mean, that shows you Gus' brilliance. I mean, Cus was a genius as far as I'm concerned and he knew people and he knew how -- and when he died, Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Kane (ph) and Kevin Rooney and Steve Black, we were the remaining team that was put in place by Cus and so -

WHITFIELD: Now you agree that Mike Tyson truly changed the face and the pace of boxing. At 21, he was undefeated. People remember him as "Iron Mike," but it seems like so long ago because now the image that people seem to have of him is that he is explosive. So, you know, what kind of boxer are we seeing now? Are we still seeing a chiseled, you know, blow-out boxer or are we seeing now just a personality that is explosive and not as boxing?

ROONEY: Well, you see it in all the fights. He's 36 years old. So is Lennox Lewis. You know Mike's been put under a lot of pressure. You know when he went with Don King, Don King ruined his career, took his money. Now Tyson's suing King. Don King's suing Tyson countersuit, and you know he was made by Cus D'Amato, Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Kane (ph). They did a magnificent media job with him, young in his career and that's why people are interested and want to see him.

WHITFIELD: But, Mr. Rooney, once Cus D'Amato died, we started to see a very different Mike Tyson emerge.

ROONEY: That's not true. That's not true.

WHITFIELD: Whether it was because of the people who surrounded him or what, but we are seeing a different kind of fighter, aren't we?

ROONEY: Yes. Yes, he...

WHITFIELD: I mean, there are some critics who are saying he really isn't a boxer anymore.

ROONEY: Mike has not been the same fighter...

WHITFIELD: Instead, he's a sideshow.

ROONEY: I don't know, I wouldn't say he's a sideshow because he's still dangerous and he knocks people out and people like to pay to see that. But when Cus died, Mike didn't become a different fighter. It was when he married Robin Givens and then he went with Don King. That's when he became the person that he is today.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about his boxing and not his personal life, unless it is, you know, related here.

ROONEY: Well, you brought it up. I'm giving you the facts.

WHITFIELD: As it relates to his boxing.

ROONEY: I give it to you the way it is.

WHITFIELD: As it relates to his boxing. We're going to be seeing him in Memphis next weekend. Is this a boxing match that people are looking forward to because of his explosive personality, or because he still brings to boxing a type of technique of boxing that no one else can top?

ROONEY: Well, he's a very hard puncher and that's why the people -- the people will tune in. They want to see what's going to happen. Lewis is 6-foot-5. He's 240. You know Mike is like 5-foot-11 1/2, and he should be like 225. Mike punches hard. Lewis is strong, but Mike punches hard and that's what the people are tuning in to see.

Now what Tyson shows up, I don't know. I think he should be hungry and I believe in my heart that he's going to knock out Lennox Lewis. He's either going to win a 12-round decision or he'll knock him out in the first round or any round from one to 12.

WHITFIELD: You don't believe the viewers will be disappointed. D.C., you know, turned down the fight ultimately. Atlanta did as well. Memphis stepped up to the plate and said, "we're willing to host this fight," a real boon for Memphis, and how much of a boon for boxing is this, the industry of boxing?

ROONEY: It's good for boxing. You got Lennox Lewis. You know he's the undisputed heavyweight champion and you got Mike Tyson who was the undisputed heavyweight champion who ran into problems when he went astray, when he went with Don King and he had that alleged rape conviction, which I think he's innocent of. He had a lawyer that defended him like a nut, that Vince. He don't know nothing about anything.

So Mike's had it rough. I think that Mike is partly -- he's smart enough to know to promote the fight and I think he's also feeling the pressure from the media who's probably asking him the same questions over and over and that's when he flies off the handle and he starts cursing.

WHITFIELD: So will a big obstacle remain that it might be difficult for Tyson to find a place in which to fight if very few cities or states want to offer the license because of so many accusations surrounding him?

ROONEY: Yes, well that's wrong. Las Vegas shouldn't have denied him. They should have let him fight out there.

WHITFIELD: But what of his future?

ROONEY: He should be allowed to fight anywhere. This is America.

WHITFIELD: I'm asking you what you expect his future will be in terms of him being able to find a home to fight. We know that Memphis is one home next week, but then what?

ROONEY: I sort of would take him back in Jersey and if New York would wake up, they'd take him back in New York, and if Vegas would wake up, they'd take him out in Vegas. This is, you know, I mean Mike's been getting a bad wrap.

WHITFIELD: Nevada says that's out of the question though.

ROONEY: What?

WHITFIELD: Nevada says that's out of the question. It's not likely to happen.

ROONEY: Well you know what, who needs them? You know who needs them? What's their nickname? Sun City or something or the devil, I mean that's Vegas, you can do anything in Vegas and they won't allow him to have a boxing license. All of a sudden they got morals? I don't know. I don't think so.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Rooney, your money's on Tyson.

ROONEY: Yes, it is.

WHITFIELD: Next weekend, you said knock out?

ROONEY: First round knock out (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or Mike -- and people are saying Mike can't go 12 rounds. Mike -- Lennox Lewis is strong. He's a nice gentleman and he's a decent fighter, but he's not, in my opinion, he's not in Mike Tyson's league. Everyone knocks Mike -- well, Mike is tough. Mike is tough. Mike will not quit. WHITFIELD: A knock-out, a return to the original "Iron Mike," you say. All right, Kevin Rooney, we'll all be watching. Thanks very much.

ROONEY: All right, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for joining us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com