Teddy Atlas © AP

After a few years away from seriously working at the highest levels with the Michael Moorers and Barry McGuigans of the fight game, the Island boxing vet has signed on to train IBF No. 1 contender Alexander Povetkin.

The plan is to prepare the 2004 Olympic gold medalist for a showdownwith IBF/WBO title-holder Wladimir Klitschko, once the 33-year-old champ recovers from recent shoulder surgery.

How does it come to pass that the ESPN fight analyst and general local do-gooder winds up back in the business where he began all those years ago in Cus D'Amato's Catskills camp teaching the fundamentals to a troubled Brooklyn kid named Mike Tyson?

In typical, that is to say, highly unusual, Teddy fashion.

The story goes something like this:

Atlas receives a call one day from some German promoters who are in the Povetkin circle. Would he consider training the 29-year-old, who is currently 17-0 with 12 KOs in the pro game?

"Maybe," Atlas responds. "Maybe not."

Would he at least fly to Russia for a few days to meet everyone and conduct a working interview with the heavyweight, is the next question?

"Well, OK," Atlas says. "But no promises."

So Teddy Atlas travels to Russia last month in between ESPN gigs and work with the Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation, his charity that needs no further description in this corner of the world.

He meets Povetkin.

"Nice kid," he thinks to himself.

He watches Povetkin work.

"Real toughness," says Atlas. "Innate ability."

He's impressed, is the bottom line.

So, does Teddy Atlas give Povetkin a big hug and hurry up and sign a contract?

Well, not exactly.

"I took him into the gym, and worked him hard, got him to lose nine pounds in less than a week," says the guy who left Tyson, Moorer and a handful of promising heavyweight hopefuls down through the years for what he perceived as a lack of dedication to their craft.

"I told him that the good news is, he throws a lot of punches. The bad news is, he doesn't know why," said Atlas. "I told him I thought he was getting too comfortable and living too good thinking he's somewhere he hasn't gotten to yet."

Then?

"I told him that he had to come to the states to train, and that he'd be up at six in the morning for his roadwork."
When Povetkin asked why so early, Atlas responded with a line coined by the truly great middleweight, Marvin Hagler.

"Because it's hard to get out of bed that early when you're wearing silk pajamas," said the guy who came out of a Newark ghetto in the1970s to hold his title against opponents like Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Vito Antuofermo and Sugar Ray Leonard.

All that groundwork laid, Atlas signed on.

Why?

Well, it's a job of course. Those are not that easy to come by these days.

And because he sees something in Povetkin.

"I think his asset is his character," Atlas said. "I think he's willing to listen to new ideas, and that he has the ability to outwork people."

Povetkin is expected in town on Tuesday.

He'll be working out of a gym in Middletown, N.J.

Atlas is putting together the pieces of the operation this weekend, the schedule and regimen and short-term goals.

Generally speaking, the idea is to make a warm-up fight for later this year. And if Klitschko is sidelined for longer than expected, perhaps a match with WBO No.1 contender Eddie Chambers sometime after that.

But the real news is that Teddy Atlas is back in business.

Back where he started all those years ago.

And that always makes things interesting.