Mitch Green

Mitch "Blood" Green (born January 13, 1957) is an American former boxer. He is best known because of a 1988 street fight with Mike Tyson.

Amateur career

As an amateur he won the New York Golden Gloves four times (1976, 1977, 1979, and 1980) and compiled a record of 64 wins and 7 losses, with 51 wins by knock-out. Green won the 1976 Sub-Novice Heavyweight Championship and the 1977, 1979 and 1980 Heavyweight Open Championships. Green defeated Anthony Zampelli to win the 1976 title. In 1977 Green defeated Guy Casale for the title. In 1979 Green defeated Ralph Fucci for the Championship and in 1980 Green defeated Merlin Castellanos for the title.He suffered a decisive cut loss in the 1978 tournament, preventing him from winning a fifth Golden Gloves title.

He was also a two-time Intercity Golden Gloves champion. In 1977 he won the title by KO in round one over Calvin Cross and again in 1979 by a decision over William Hosea.

Mitch lost against Russian boxing great Igor Vysotsky in a 1978 matchup, and was considered a prospect for the 1980 Olympic Games (held in Moscow), but the U.S. boycotted the event, and Green also lost to Marvis Frazier in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Trials that year. He did, however, in the finals of the Eastern Regionals, manage to beat perennial contender Woody Clark.

In amateur competition Green also lost bouts to future world champions Greg Page (boxer) and Tony Tubbs, though he did manage to beat Tubbs in the 1978 Sports Festival. Surprisingly, he also lost to future cruiserweight champion Alfonzo Ratliff in an 1980 New York-Chicago intercity matchup.

Green trained at the United Block Association Gym in New York City.

Pro career

As a professional "Blood" was one of NBC's "Tomorrow's Champions" and was ranked as high as #7 by the World Boxing Council, and also in the top ten by the World Boxing Association. Mitch was undefeated in his first sixteen bouts, which included a 1983 points win over the rugged Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings, and a draw with trialhorse Robert Evans. His first loss was a twelve round decision to future WBC champ Trevor Berbick in a bid for the United States Boxing Association title on August 10, 1985.

Tyson fight

After a comeback win over Percell Davis he lost a ten round decision to Mike Tyson in 1986 on HBO, in his most famous fight. In the buildup to the fight Green had complained bitterly of the disparity in purses between him and Tyson when a day before the fight, Green learnt he was being paid $30,000 to Tyson's $200,000. He threatened to pull out of the contest and Green finally settled for being released from his managerial contract with King's stepson Carl in return for his short purse. Green put up a stubborn showing during the fight where Tyson was unable to hurt or put down Green, but did at one point knock out a gold tooth which landed in front of writer Phil Berger.

Green had been scheduled to box James "Bonecrusher" Smith in December 1986 on the undercard of the Tim Witherspoon-Tony Tubbs world heavyweight title fight. However when Tubbs dropped out claiming injury, Bonecrusher stepped in and won the title, leaving Green without a fight or payday.

Green refused to box for many years and was in frequent trouble with the law. He finally returned to the ring in February 1993, now aged 36, against journeyman Bruce Johnson. Again complaining about his purse and his new manager, Green refused to throw any punches and argued constantly with the referee, until the exasperated ref stopped the bizarre contest in the third.

Throughout the 1990s, "Blood" would sporadically come out of retirement, most notably in bids for the New York State heavyweight title, against fringe contenders Melvin Foster in 1994 and Brian Nix in 1998. A 1998 win over Mike Dixon was ruled a 'no contest' when Green tested positive for marijuana. A March 1996 contest with Shannon Briggs fell apart when Green pulled a gun on his manager.

Pro titles

Mitch was scheduled to fight James Broad for the NABF title in 1985, but dropped out of the fight for money reasons.

Late in his career, an aged Green held two spurious championships. He won the World Boxing Empire Super-Heavyweight Title with a twelve round decision over Danny Wofford on March 9, 2002, and was proclaimed the Universal Boxing Organization Heavyweight Champion on June 24, 2005. He never defended either title. His last fight was a fourth round knockout of Billy Mitchem on August 2, 2005.

Feud with Mike Tyson

Green is best known for his out-of-the-ring antics with Tyson. The most infamous was an incident that began in the early hours of August 23, 1988, in Harlem. Tyson was with his good friend David R. Stec. The pair were shopping at Dapper Dans, a Harlem clothing store. Green had heard that Tyson was in the area and went to track him down in hopes of securing a rematch. A scuffle ensued and Green allegedly threw a punch and Tyson responded with a straight right to Green's nose, requiring five stitches. Tyson broke his hand in the incident and had to postpone his fight with Frank Bruno. Later, although a New York jury awarded Green $45,000 in damages in a civil lawsuit against Tyson, the sum did not cover the legal fees. Tyson later recounted his version of the fight in his book and Broadway show Undisputed Truth.^[2]

Professional boxing record

19 Wins (12 knockouts, 7 decisions), 6 Losses (1 knockout, 5 decisions), 1 Draw, 1 No Contest
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	19-6-1(1NC)	Billy Mitchem	KO	4	08/02/2005	Memphis, Tennessee, United States	Mitchem knocked out at 2:14 of the fourth round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	18-6-1(1NC)	Danny Wofford	UD	12	03/09/2002	Annandale, Virginia, United States	WBS World Super Heavyweight Title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	17-6-1(1NC)	Brian Nix	UD	10	10/02/1998	Staten Island, New York, United States	New York Heavyweight Title. 93-97, 94-97, 94-96.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	17-5-1(1NC)	Miguel Otero	UD	8	09/12/1998	Lake Worth, Florida, United States
No Contest	17-4-1(1NC)	Mike Dixon	NC	8	07/25/1998	Lake Worth, Florida, United States	UD for Green vacated.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	17-4-1	Lou Turchiarelli	TKO	6	08/18/1995	Middletown, New York, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	16-4-1	Melvin Foster	PTS	10	06/02/1994	Melville, New York, United States	New York Heavyweight Title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	16-3-1	Bruce Johnson	TKO	3	02/26/1993	Woodbridge, Virginia, United States	Referee stopped the bout due to Green's refusal to punch.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	16-2-1	Mike Tyson	UD	10	05/20/1986	New York City, United States	2-8, 1-9, 1-9.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	16-1-1	Percell Davis	UD	10	01/17/1986	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	15-1-1	Trevor Berbick	UD	12	08/10/1985	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	USBA Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	15-0-1	Sammy Scaff	TKO	6	08/31/1984	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the sixth round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	14-0-1	Young Louis	TKO	6	07/15/1984	Kingston, New York, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	13-0-1	Lynwood Jones	TKO	1	03/21/1984	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:48 of the first round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	12-0-1	James Dixon	PTS	10	07/17/1983	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	11-0-1	Floyd Cummings	UD	10	02/16/1983	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	10-0-1	Lon Dale Friesen	KO	2	10/02/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	9-0-1	Grady Daniels	UD	8	08/14/1982	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	8-0-1	Walter Santemore	UD	6	06/11/1982	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	7-0-1	Walter Ware	TKO	1	05/02/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	6-0-1	Willard Dumas	KO	1	04/09/1982	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	5-0-1	Melvin Epps	UD	6	06/21/1981	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Draw	4-0-1	Robert Evans	PTS	6	02/08/1981	McAfee, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	4-0	Lindsay Page	TKO	2	01/22/1981	Totowa, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	3-0	Harold Rice	TKO	5	12/20/1980	The Bronx, New York, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	2-0	Johnny Pitts	TKO	3	11/25/1980	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	1-0	Jerry Foley	TKO	1	11/08/1980	Stateline, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:44 of the first round.

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Mitch Green from BoxRec
• Green on Best Damn Sports Show Period!