Mitch Green

Mitch Green (born January 13, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005.

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 knockout.

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 1977 he won the title by KO in round one over Calvin Cross and again in 1979 by a decision over William Hosea.

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.

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 and Tony Tubbs, though he did manage to beat Tubbs in the 1978 Sports Festival.

In 1979 Green defeated Ralph Fucci for the Championship and in 1980 Green defeated Merlin Castellanos for the title.

In February 1979, Green was ranked #5 U.S. amateur heavyweight by the U.S. Amateur Boxers and Coaches Association.

Surprisingly, he also lost to future cruiserweight champion Alfonzo Ratliff in a 1980 New York−Chicago intercity matchup.

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

At that time he was employed as a security guard.

He has quit his job to spend full time preparing for the 1980 Olympics.

"I'm really getting it together. I'm taking time out so I can just think about boxing," he said.

In the beginning of 1980 he went to Tennessee, where he sparred with WBA world heavyweight champion John Tate, and Washington D.C., where he trained with Dave Jacobs, Sugar Ray Leonard's trainer.

"I want to go pro right after the Gloves. I had wanted very much to go to the Olympics, you know, give those Russians a bit of New York. But now I'll just see if I can make a living at it," said Green.

Green turned pro in 1980, signing a contract with the rock promoter Shelly Finkel, whom he met at the 1979 New York Golden Gloves.

As a professional, Green was one of NBC's "Tomorrow's Champions" (a group of Finkel's young pros, which also included Alex Ramos, Tony Ayala Jr.., Donald Curry and Johnny Bumphus) and was ranked as high as #7 by the World Boxing Council, and also in the top ten by the World Boxing Association.

Green left Finkel after a year as a pro after a disagreement over payoffs.

He was managed by Carl King, son of Don King, who was Green's promoter.

Mitch was undefeated in his first sixteen bouts, which included a 1983 points win over the rugged Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings, and a draw with trial horse 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.

In March 1985, Green violently interrupted a pre-fight press conference of the Larry Holmes vs David Bey championship fight, claiming that he was a better contender than Bey, and seeking for a clash with Don King's people.

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

He is best known for having gone the distance with Mike Tyson in 1986, who was undefeated at the time.

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.

Two years later, in 1988, Green ended up fighting Tyson again in a notorious street brawl.

A toothpick dangling between his lips became his trademark at any public appearance.

Green grew up in the Bronx on 175th St. between Anthony and Clay Aves.

"I was shot twice when I was 17. But it had to have been the will of God that I wasn't hurt" said Green.

The first time Green was shot it was with a .22 magnum.

The bullet passed through his right wrist, but the slug missed arteries, bones and nerves and Green was fighting again a few weeks later.

The second time he sustained a graze wound, when a slug slashed the right side of his head, leaving a short, puffy scar.

Ironically, it was the gunfights that led Green to less lethal boxing.

Later he moved to Jamaica, Queens, where he reportedly quarreled with another Jamaica resident and talented amateur boxer Carl Williams.

Green attended DeWitt Clinton High School while employed as a security guard.