Mike Tyson broke his hand and feared he'd killed New York gangster in street brawl

Mike Tyson is notorious for his devastating left hook knockouts, but one of his most bizarre KOs was delivered by a "Bruce Lee roundhouse kick" against an opponent he claims possessed drug-induced "alien-like strength."

The New York gang leader Mitch Green had previously faced Tyson in the ring during the boxer's meteoric rise to stardom. He managed to go the distance across 10 rounds with Tyson in 1986 at Madison Square Garden, six months before Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history by demolishing Trevor Berbick.

Green was already furious with Tyson, claiming boxing promoter Don King had short-changed him. The gangster craved a profitable rematch with Tyson, but this reality seemed unlikely to materialize in the boxing ring.

Whether in or out of the ring, Green was gagging for another confrontation with Tyson, which led to them coming face-to-face on a night out on August 23, 1988.

On that fateful evening, Tyson had traveled to Harlem to pick up an $850 white leather jacket from Dapper Dan's clothing store, which featured "Don't Believe the Hype" – the title of a Public Enemy track – written across the back.

Green had learned about Tyson's presence in Harlem, prompting the former boxing opponent to storm into the store without a shirt and unleash a torrent of insults at his bitter enemy.

Drawing from his account of the fight during a previous comedy performance called Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, Tyson revealed details of the wild encounter. Although the show was labeled "Undisputed Truth", many have doubted whether it accurately depicts what happened, as Tyson might have embellished certain details to make the story more dramatic.

Tyson had spent the earlier part of that evening drinking and partying before the street confrontation occurred. Prior to the mayhem breaking out, Tyson claimed he was trying to present himself as a corporate, sponsor-friendly champion during that time period.

Tyson said: "I'm there feeling good – all of a sudden my cool is interrupted when this uncouth mother----- walks in."

Based on Tyson's version of events, he told Green: "Now, Mitch, you must consider what you are doing. I do not think that this course of action in the long run is advantageous for your health. You'll remember that I already vanquished you when we met in the ring. You need to proceed to the nearest exit immediately."

Tyson joked that Mitch ran towards him, yelling, "F--- you f-----." This led to Tyson's hand "slipping," and he smacked the New York gangster in the face with an overhand right.

Iron Mike claimed the punch sent Green hurtling back, but the bout was far from over. Tyson added: "I broke my hand on this c---sucker's face, right."

He explained that after Mitch was knocked down, the New York gangster seemingly rose from the dead due to some alleged powerful substances he had taken before the confrontation.

Tyson said: "This is one thing you never knew – you all know about the altercation, but this is what you didn't know. Mitch was high on some powerful s--- that gave him alien-like strength.

"I was drunk and didn't realize that he was high on angel dust [PCP] so he wasn't going to hit me back.

"I was throwing punches and crunching this guy and he was weaving and wobbling from side to side like he was going to fall but he didn't go down. So I did a Bruce Lee 'Enter the Dragon' roundhouse kick on his ass and he went down."

Tyson suffered a hairline fracture from the mayhem, which delayed his forthcoming title defense against Britain's Frank Bruno. The bout eventually took place the following year.

Despite Tyson's retelling of the event, Green claimed that Tyson "sucker-punched" him, leaving him reeling on the floor of the store.