How did Mitch Green do better against Mike Tyson than Michael Spinks

Probably the same way Muhammad Ali had more trouble with left-handed heavyweight Doug than with Sonny Liston, and George Foreman was worse with Peralta than with Joe Frazier. Style, the fact that it was early in Tyson's career, and he was still developing, while Spinks was already at a different stage.

 

On his podcast the rapper Cam'ron (who used to sell drugs in Harlem) has talked about Mitch being a known "dust-head" and Harlem was a known Angel Dust spot in NYC in those days. Its where everyone went to buy PCP. So Mitch being high on PCP thats VERY likely. Everything sort of lines up with it.

 

I don’t doubt that Mitch had done angel dust before (and after) but if Harlem is the ‘known angel dust spot in NYC’ it’s a stretch to say ‘that means anyone there is on dust’ — Tyson was there, too, lol.

My point is Mike Tyson, unless he was there to witness Mitch Green take angel dust before the altercation (he wasn’t) has no way to know if Mitch is on it or not. Him saying it doesn’t make it so, and there’s nothing he has ever cited to back up his conclusion.

And whether he was or not, the story is the same.

 

Green came from a heartier stock, boasting a familial background of Denisovan Huguenots from the Eastern seaboard region of Protobaltic Carthaginian Nomads and Bedouins.

 

I can't find it but he actually goes way more in depth about Mitch Green being a dust-head elsewhere but in this clip he tells Mike Tyson about Mitch going to buy PCP immediately after the Tyson fight

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AND he was a heayweight.

 

Mitch wasn't that great of a fighter but he had a negative style and a really good chin.

Theres lots of journeyman who survive against top punchers, they are still inferior to good fighters who lose early.

 

Green was tougher and bigger, and was scared of nobody

 

Hmm...are we both talking about the welterweight who fought Tyson and Leonard? Mitchyboy Green?

 

It would be remarkable if we were.

 

Tyson wasn't even 20. Mitch Green was a near elite fighter in his prime who had all the physical advantages. The wheels came off the bus for Green after this fight but only after.

Fighters who are 19,20,21 can change pretty rapidly in a matter of months. This was 6 months before Tyson won the title off Berbick and I don't think early champ Tyson was nearly as good as he was in 1988.

 

Think most have already nailed it. One thing not mentioned is tyson had 3 months inbetween fighting tubbs and spinks. So had more time for a camp.

He fought james tillis at 19 years old then fights mitch green 17 days later. Incredible how quickly he went through the division looking back. Both tillis and green knew their way round a boxing ring as well.

 

Many people could learn from the way you have engaged with me on this thread, Sal. I can't lie about that.

 

Mike fought often in those days to keep him out of trouble as much as everything and they were in a race to try to make him the youngest champ ever (imo he did not achieve that because he won belts and wasn’t lineal until Spinks) to give Cus more legacy — Tyson was a means to an end as far as being some kind of human trophy for D’Amato and they cut corners on his development as a human being to rush to that deadline, not holding him accountable for a lot of things.

If you look carefully, his pre-title resume is not really that impressive — basically Tillis and Green and Marvis: three fringe contenders who were not considered top guys. He did not clean out the division on his way to the HBO “tournament.” They paid for it and wanted him in it because they saw $$$.

 

Well I’ve just known you for so long by now…….