Earlier this year, in a rare interview, 68-year-old former heavyweight fighter Mitch Green insisted that Mike Tyson would never agree to a fight if the opportunity arose. “He wouldn’t do it,” he told DJ Vlad. As far as Green is concerned, he’d accept the challenge with ‘quickness.’ But the question remains: leaving aside age and retirement, why would Iron Mike call him out? Because he’s beaten him not once, but twice? Twice? Well, they only fought once, in the ring, 39 years ago.

A blast from the past in Mike Tyson’s wild career just made a comeback. On Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast, the youngest heavyweight champion in history reminisced about his legendary showdowns with Mitch Green from 37 years back. In a stunning turn of events, Green teamed up with James Tillis to put an end to Tyson’s jaw-dropping 19-fight knockout streak. And then, two years later, threw down with him in the streets of Harlem.

Somewhere mid-conversation, Shaq brought up Green. “Tell me something about Mitch Green,” he asked. The question made Tyson visibly pause, his mind wandering back to those turbulent days. O’Neal’s co-host, Adam Lefkoe, seemed largely unaware of who Mitch Green was. Just how forgotten this name has become over the decades.

Tyson didn’t hold back. “Mitch Green’s a fighter/junkie/stickup kid. And I heard he’s a born-again Christian now,” he said. Though he acknowledged Green’s boxing ability, he emphasized the trouble that followed him. “He’s the kind of guy… Oh, you got to hear. He would go in the gas station, tie the gas station guy up, and start pumping gas and getting the money, taking the money. And that’s the kind of guy Mitch Green is.”

“A total bully,” Mike Tyson summed up. And maybe that’s why things escalated. “That’s why I had to kick his a**. I thought he was trying to go in my pocket. Yeah, in real life I hit him up too because he was trying to play me cuz I was in Harlem.” Tyson added.

The brawl emerged seemingly out of nowhere.

When Mike Tyson handed Mitch Green another beating

On August 23, 1988, two years after losing to Tyson in Madison Square Garden, Mitch Green confronted the then-undisputed heavyweight champion at Dapper Dan’s, a high-end boutique in Harlem.

The showdown rapidly escalated into an all-out brawl on the streets. Green claims he was shortchanged by Tyson’s promoter, Don King. But talk turned to blows. A booming straight right from Tyson had Green reeling, leaving him with a left eye swollen shut and a nasty gash on his nose that needed five stitches to close up.

But Tyson didn’t walk away from that one without a few bruises. He broke his right hand in the heat of the brawl. Back then, he was on top of the world following a blistering 91-second knockout of Michael Spinks and was getting ready to defend his title against Frank Bruno that October. The bout got pushed back to February 1989 due to an injury setback.

Reflecting on it later, Tyson didn’t mince words. “He must have thought I’m some punk,” Tyson said before adding, “I picked his a** before but he thought he didn’t know I’m from the street.” As far as the boxing legend was concerned, “He made me beat that a**.”

The Tyson-Green street fight remains one of the most infamous and bizarre moments in boxing history. A raw reminder of Iron Mike’s explosive life both inside and outside the ring.

What’s your favorite Mike Tyson story? Let us know in the comments.