My Favorite Beltway Boxing Bouts -- Bout # 4!

This is bout number 4 in My Favorite Beltway Boxing Bouts countdown.

4. Darryll "Terrible T" Tyson vs. Reggie "Showtime" Green, September 20, 1994, DC Armory

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: One of the best crossroads bouts in recent Beltway Boxing history -- the dangerous veteran versus the undefeated upstart. And the bout had something for everyone, whether you saw the bout live on or TV.

When I think about this bout, the first thing that comes to mind is how close the bout came to not happening.

Tyson was coming off a stretch in which he fought four top-flight boxers. He lost a WBC Lightweight title bid by unanimous decision to Miguel Angel Gonzalez in December of 1992, and then in July of 1993 he fought twice within a 10-day period – a 10-round draw against former world champion Livingstone Bramble in DC, then he flew to Las Vegas where he lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Rafael Ruelas.

Tyson then captured the USBA Junior Welterweight title with a split decision over former champion Roger Mayweather in Atlantic City in October of 1993.

After the Mayweather win, Tyson was off until August 18, 1994. Knowing he was going to face Green, Tyson fought a tune-up bout against Genaro Andujar in DC at the Convention Center. After the tough stretch and the inactivity, no one expected any difficulty during the Andujar bout and Tyson did stop Andujar in the fifth round, but he paid a price.

During the contest, Tyson was caught with a nasty head butt that caused a gash over his right eye. Everyone who saw the cut immediately seemed to realize that the big bout against Green was in jeopardy.

Tyson’s first reaction ended up being one of the greatest memories I have in my career of covering boxing. With Tyson’s entrance song (“Bustin’ Loose” by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers) blasting in the background, Tyson went into this wild dance around the ring. It was so uncharacteristic of him that you knew there was something amiss. Later, Tyson appeared cautiously optimistic about the cut being healed in time for the Green bout a month later.

Thankfully, everyone’s fears were unnecessary. The cut was fixed and the bout came off as part of the first of two televised cards in our area that week. With a USA Network audience watching, Tyson and Green stepped into the ring at the DC Armory fighting for Tyson’s USBA and the vacant NABF Super Lightweight title.

By this time, Green had begun to spar with the top pound-for-pound boxer at the time, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker. This proved to be very beneficial going into this bout. Until this point, Green’s most notable wins were a second-round win over previously undefeated Ralph “Tiger” Jones in March of 1993 in Atlantic City, the two victories over Lyndon Paul Walker and a third-round TKO over another Beltway Boxer, Kenny Baysmore in May of 1994 at the Show Place Arena. But Tyson soon learned that the young man deserved to be in the same ring with the old pro.

The bout was a serious give-and-take affair. Both guys had a lot of moments in the contest. Green’s boxing ability seemed to surprise Tyson at times. Tyson tried to pressure Green and Green handled the pressure very well.

The bout was EXTREMELY close heading into the 12th and final round. This is where it was great to have seen the bout on TV because viewers saw, and more importantly, heard something that we didn’t get live. Between the 11th and 12th, Tyson’s handlers asked their boxer a question that sounded straight out of a “Rocky” movie.

“Do you have three minutes?”

Tyson answered, “I’ve got three minutes!”

Tyson proceeded to use those three minutes to give everything he had. During the end of those minutes, Tyson dropped Green with a right hand. Green beat the count, but the knockdown proved to be the final difference in the contest. Tyson won a split decision to capture both titles.

AFTERMATH: In my opinion, both men benefited greatly from this bout. Although he never gained another world title shot, Tyson maintained his reputation as one of the toughest battlers in the 140-pound division. Green, even in defeat, earned a similar reputation and went on to have a good career.