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I'm not trying to come off as rude, but I think you are entirely wrong with your position on this. For starters, there is no guarantee at all that Teddy is worth 10's of millions of dollars. Like you said, he is not considered anywhere close to an elite trainer, and his only regular job is hosting FNF, a series that although popular, isn't rated extremely high on the ESPN network broadcasts and probably doesn't garner the type of contracts that you are imagining. Most professional athletes don't have 10's of millions of dollars, so assuming that a full-time broadcaster and part-time fight trainer does is almost absurd. The money aspect is all about saving and investing, if he has been smart with his money he may be well off, but saying he is a multimillionaire is comical.
Even more comical is your attack of Atlas' character. Teddy Atlas is highly respected in the boxing world by fans, trainers, and fighters alike, he is a yearly donor to many foundations, and although he did have issues in his past, you are mentioning a specific incident from the beginning of his career, which makes me think you have a personal vendetta rather than a valid argument.
Without Atlas, Povetkin would have 1) went up against Klitschko at his first offered opportunity, a fight that would have likely been a loss for Povetkin and would have earned him much less money than what he will be able to negotiate for a fight with a Klitschko brother now, and 2) would have likely lost his title fight against Chagaev, because he only seemed to come on strongly once Teddy gave him his memorable speech in the corner in the later rounds of the bout. Teddy Atlas has been more than generous with his treatment of Povetkin, even leaving the FNF crew a month early last season to help Povetkin train in Russia. A deal is a deal, and if they agreed Povetkin should train in the U.S. during the FNF season, then that is how it should be.
I commend Atlas for staying loyal to his fans and ESPN, he has his priorities in order and that is something difficult to find these days. If Povetkin wants to continue his success, he should think twice before splitting from the trainer who helped him from the brink of defeat less than a year ago!
Even more comical is your attack of Atlas' character. Teddy Atlas is highly respected in the boxing world by fans, trainers, and fighters alike, he is a yearly donor to many foundations, and although he did have issues in his past, you are mentioning a specific incident from the beginning of his career, which makes me think you have a personal vendetta rather than a valid argument.
Without Atlas, Povetkin would have 1) went up against Klitschko at his first offered opportunity, a fight that would have likely been a loss for Povetkin and would have earned him much less money than what he will be able to negotiate for a fight with a Klitschko brother now, and 2) would have likely lost his title fight against Chagaev, because he only seemed to come on strongly once Teddy gave him his memorable speech in the corner in the later rounds of the bout. Teddy Atlas has been more than generous with his treatment of Povetkin, even leaving the FNF crew a month early last season to help Povetkin train in Russia. A deal is a deal, and if they agreed Povetkin should train in the U.S. during the FNF season, then that is how it should be.
I commend Atlas for staying loyal to his fans and ESPN, he has his priorities in order and that is something difficult to find these days. If Povetkin wants to continue his success, he should think twice before splitting from the trainer who helped him from the brink of defeat less than a year ago!
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