Mike Tyson is one of the most dangerous boxers in history, but sometimes that aggression spilled out outside of the ring.
The all-time great Heavyweight fighter had an altercation with a former opponent in 1988, two years after going the distance with him in Madison Square Garden.
Tyson and Mitch Green had bad blood over money dating back to their 1986 bout, although that seems to have been largely forgotten about on Iron Mike’s end by the time he reigned as world Heavyweight champion.
A chance encounter with Green in Harlem over money he claimed Don King owed him led the pair to an infamous street fight, which saw Tyson break his hand on Green’s face during the encounter.
The fight was a low point in Tyson’s career, as he fled the scene thinking he’d killed Green in a needless street fight over money.
Mike Tyson fled the scene after thinking he’d killed Mitch Green
Tyson recalled the story on an episode of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, where he revealed his side of the infamous Harlem brawl with his former opponent.
He claimed that Green was the instigator, trying to take Tyson’s money and questioning why the Heavyweight champion was “in my hood”.
After an altercation that saw Green break into Tyson’s car, he hurt his hand, knocking him out before he fled the scene after seeing Green’s head bounce off the curb.
Worried he had killed the man, he ran away in fear before confirming on the news that Green had survived the fight.
Tyson said: “I ran into Mitch Green. I had gone to Dapper Dan earlier that day – around 11 or 12 o’clock that afternoon – and I was fitted for some clothes.
“So my back is turned from everybody, but everybody’s laughing, and all of a sudden everybody stopped laughing. I’m talking when I turn around – Mitch Green’s in there. These guys are all scared. Then he just started talking: “What are you doing in my hood?”
“We threw down in the street, right there by Dapper Dan’s. It was quick, real quick. He was talking a lot. I really thought he was grabbing from my pocket and trying to pull my pocket back because he ripped my pack and all the money fell out. But I didn’t have a chance to get my money – I had to fight this guy.
“That’s when I started punching him, and it was over quick. I dropped him a couple of times, but he was high on angel dust, so he kept getting up – just like Friday the 13th, like Michael Myers. I’d knock him cold, boom, and he’d get back up.
“I’m in the car now, tired because I’m overweight a little bit, fighting this guy. I’m tired, I’m a little drunk. Then he rushes through my car, breaks into my Rolls Royce, and breaks the side mirror.
“I got out of the car and hit Mitch. He went down and bent over. I grabbed his head and hit him – boom – one time, and his head hit the concrete.
“That’s when he was out, and I got scared because he didn’t move anymore when his head hit the concrete. That’s when I ran. I thought I killed him. I was so scared.”
Thankfully, Green did not die from the fight and would recover enough to take Tyson to court to sue for the damages caused.
Mitch Green took Mike Tyson to court over the damage from the street fight
Despite winning in the street, the courtroom went very differently for Tyson.
The broken hand he sustained meant the fight with Frank Bruno had to be delayed, and he was hit with a lawsuit from Green that saw him lose out in civil court.
Green initially sought damages of $25 million for the pain and suffering caused by Tyson during their brawl, although he received nowhere near that.
Tyson was found liable by a jury, who initially awarded him $100,000 worth of damages but later decided that, because Green provoked him, it would be dropped to $45,000.
This did not even cover Green’s legal costs, and he was forbidden from going near Tyson for the next 30 days. While he lost in court, Tyson would have been happy not having to pay $25 million to the man he could have killed in a street fight.