The evaluation period is probably so that Teddy doesn't further damage his reputation by training yet another fighter who turns out to be a paper tiger.
Atlas' reputation as a trainer? I wasn't aware that it was all that good to begin with....he road Steward's coattails to a heavyweight title and pulled a gun on Mike Tyson. That's basically his reputation. He failed with Briggs, Grant and Johnson, so I can't see Povetkin hurting that reputation....but maybe working with Teddy would hurt Povetkin's reputation as a fighter. Seriously, I actually think Povetkin might be a better recipient of Atlas' methods than some others...certainly more than the likes of Grant, who seemed to be in some way broken, mentally, by Atlas.
What's bad can always get worse. And Atlas too might be looking at this as an opportunity to redeem himself. Every trainer has a reputation whether it's a bad one or a good one. That concept has seemed to eluded you. I have this feeling that Atlas thinks he knows how to beat Wlad and probably sold himself to Povetkin under this premise. In reality, it's probably Povetkin's people who have required there be a trial period. :: I think I'm giving Teddy too much credit, possibly. In any case, I don't really understand your response. I never said he was a renowned trainer. All I said was maybe he didn't want to once again come up short as he has since training Moorer. It's all speculation. Who knows why in the hell Povetkin would give Teddy the time of day. He's probably having trial periods with several trainers - guys he thinks could be smart enough to devise the strategy necessary to beat Mr. Hit and Hold. It's a tall order.
What's Teddy Atlas going to do for Povetkin?... you've all got to remember that if you're born a certain race, there's just no changing it.
Maybe give him a nice motivational speech in the corner. Teddy hasn't been in the corner of a big heavyweight fight in a while, he's probably got all new material. And he's like Carrot Top with his corner props. I'm looking forward to it. opcorn:
You mean Atlas was taking advantage of the fact that he has a television outlet stateside in order to tell the story the way he wants to, while the other is in Russia awaiting his arrival? That kind of self-aggrandizement doesn't sound like Atlas.
