Legends of the Ring Autograph Show Celebrates Cus D’Amato’s Legacy in Catskill

Catskill, New York | 22 August 2026

Boxing history came alive in Catskill on Saturday 22 August as Cus D’Amato’s KO Boxing Gym hosted the Legends of the Ring Autograph Show, bringing together an outstanding collection of world champions, former titleholders, boxing personalities and fans.

Held at the historic gym at 422 Main Street, Catskill, the event celebrated the rich boxing heritage of the area and the continuing legacy of legendary trainer Cus D’Amato.

The five hour event, running from 11am to 5pm, provided boxing fans with an opportunity to meet and obtain autographs from some of the sport’s most recognised names.

Among the legends appearing were Larry Holmes, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Ray Mercer, Michael Nunn, Micky Ward, Bobby Czyz, Junior Jones, John Scully and many other accomplished fighters and boxing personalities.

For many years, I have dedicated myself to researching, writing about, and preserving the legacy of Cus D’Amato. That journey ultimately became Confusing the Enemy: The Cus D’Amato Story. We created the book because we believed the real story of Cus deserved to be explored not simply the story of a legendary boxing trainer, but of a thinker, strategist, teacher, and student of human behavior and a person who understood that the mind could be every bit as important as the body in creating a fighter.

On August 22, 2026, that journey once again came full circle for our team at the Legends of the Ring Autograph Show. I had the opportunity to spend time among some extraordinary figures from boxing history, including Larry Holmes, Tim Witherspoon, Gerry Cooney, Junior Jones, Mike Tyson, and many others.

For someone who has spent so much of his life studying boxing, and the martial arts working with fighters, and researching Cus, being surrounded by so much living history was incredibly meaningful. It also gave me another opportunity to share what we have been trying to accomplish through Confusing the Enemy, preserving not only Cus’s story, but his philosophy, his fighters, his methods, and, whenever possible, his actual voice.

Seeing Mike again in his old home made the day particularly special. Mike Tyson will forever be an essential part of the Cus D’Amato story. Cus saw something in that young man that others either could not see or did not know how to develop. Their relationship became far more than trainer and fighter. Mike became his student, his protégé and, in many ways, the culmination of Cus’s life’s work. Cus gave Mike more than the peek-a-boo style.

After the event, we ended the day by paying homage to Cus at his resting place. Standing beside Cus D’Amato’s grave with Mike Tyson is surreal, no matter how many times you have done it In that moment, the championships, the fame, the crowds, and the history seemed secondary. What remained was the relationship between two people: the master and the student and my connection to Mike n Cus .

Standing there, I felt an enormous sense of respect for Cus, for Mike, and for what existed between them. Cus gave Mike a life but more importantly, he gave him a belief in himself that no one saw or cared about. That is one of the reasons I continue telling this story.

My hope is that Confusing the Enemy and the information to come helps ensure that future generations discover Cus D’Amato not simply as the man who trained Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José Torres, but as an extraordinary teacher who changed the way many people thought about boxing, fear, confidence, or any task one puts the human mind to.

That is why we continue to tell his story. And that is why, standing beside his grave with Mike Tyson and some new friends, I was reminded once again just how important that story is to preserve.

Dr. Scott Weiss
Co-Author, Confusing the Enemy: The Cus D’Amato Story