Mitch Green
Mitch Green | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mitchell Green January 13, 1957 |
| Nationality |  American |
| Other names | Blood |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 27[1] |
| Wins | 19 |
| Wins by KO | 12 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
Mitch "Blood" Green (born January 13, 1957) is a former American boxer. He is probably 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 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 held his own 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 Reginonals, 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. After a comeback win over Percell Davis he lost a ten round decision to Mike Tyson on May 20, 1986.
After the Tyson loss Green would not fight again until February 1993 in a bout against trialhorse Bruce Johnson. In a bizarre situation, the fight was stopped by the referee in the third round because Mitch refused to throw punches. The fight was ruled a TKO win for Johnson. Throughout the 1990s, "Blood" would sporadically come out of retirement, most notably in bids for the New York State Heavyweight Title against fringe contender Melvin Foster in 1994, and Brian Nix in 1998. Another 1998 bout against Mike Dixon was ruled a No Contest.
Late in his career, he 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 high point was an incident that began in the early morning 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, a New York jury would award Green $45000 in damages in a civil lawsuit against Tyson.
References
External links
- Boxing record for Mitch Green from BoxRec (registration required)
- Mitch "Blood" Green
- Green on Best Damn Sports Show Period!