The list of Mike Tyson’s off-stage altercations just keep getting bigger and bigger. From fighting a real gangster in the ring, to attacking the police, to trying to bribe a zoo staff to fight a gorilla, all the way to fighting a man in the plane. The former heavyweight champ can not catch a break. Now the legendary boxer details yet another one of his clashes.
Mitch ‘Blood’ Green really was a ‘Reverse Flash’ to Tyson’s Barry Allen. Mitch fought young Mike for 10 rounds during their match on Madison Square Garden, delayed ‘Iron’s title defence match vs Bruno and even sued him at court. But the biggest act of rivalry probably took place in the streets of Harlem, New York.
In August of 1988, Tyson was out late at night to an apparel store known as ‘Dapper’s Dan’ to pick up a white leather jacket worth nearly $1000 dollars. Green had been part of a gang in NY and got notified of his rivals presence promptly. ‘Blood’ alleged it was disrespectful for his former opponent to just walk in and leave unscathed from Harlem.
Mitch confronted Tyson in the streets at around 4’o clock in the night. Per Tyson, he tried to de-escalate the conflict as he was already the champion back then and wanted to project a sponsor-friendly image. Mike wrote in his autobiography (Undisputed Truth) how he addressed his foe saying,
“Now, Mitch, you must consider what you are doing. I do not think that this course of action in the long run is advantageous for your health. You’ll remember that I already vanquished you when we met in the ring. You need to proceed to the nearest exit immediately.”
How likely is a 22-year old drunk and hot blooded Tyson to propose such a well-worded statement to a man out of blood is a topic for another day. But the fight broke out anyway, and after some tussling, the heavyweight champ tried to escape. But Mitch attacked his car and it is exactly at this point Tyson lost his cool and landed his signature Right Uppercut on Green.
In Tyson’s own words, “my signature punch, the right uppercut. Boom! Mitch went flying into the air and came down like a ragdoll, right on his head.”
Tyson was worried thinking he had killed his former foe. However, later it was revealed that Mitch survived with serious damages while ‘Iron’ Mike broke his own hand.
