the live broadcast of 3 fights. He threatened to pull out of the contest, finally settling for being released from his managerial contract with King's stepson Carl in return for his short purse. Green put up a stubborn showing during the fight despite losing a ten-round unanimous decision, and at one point managed to knock one of Tyson's gold teeth out, which landed in front of writer Phil Berger. A week later Green was released from his contract by manager Carl King, who was criticized the previous week by Green for mishandling his career. Later years Green was later signed to face James “Bonecrusher” Smith on December 12, 1986 as part of a Don King-produced event for HBO from Madison Square Garden. The match between Green and Smith was to serve as part of the event’s undercard, with Tim Witherspoon set to defend his WBA championship in a rematch against former champion Tony Tubbs, from whom Witherspoon had wrested the championship eleven months earlier. After Tubbs pulled out of the contest with a reported injury, Witherspoon instead gave Smith, whom he had beaten in a twelve-round decision in 1985 to earn the shot at Tubbs, a rematch with the title on the line; Green was left off of the event, as a result, since a replacement opponent was not found. Green later appeared at the Witherspoon–Smith pre-fight negotiations, again threatening Don King. Green refused to box for many years and was in frequent trouble with the law. He finally returned to the ring in February 1993, then aged 36, against journeyman Bruce Johnson. Again complaining about his purse and his new manager, Green refused to throw any punches and argued constantly with the referee, until the exasperated ref stopped the bizarre contest in the third. Throughout the 1990s, Green sporadically came out of retirement, most notably in bids for the New York State heavyweight title, against fringe contenders Melvin Foster in 1994 and Brian Nix in 1998. A 1998 win over Mike Dixon was ruled a 'no contest' when Green tested positive for marijuana. A March 1996 contest with Shannon Briggs fell apart when Green pulled a gun on his manager. Green was scheduled to fight James Broad for the NABF title in 1985, but dropped out of the fight for money reasons. Late in his career, an aged Green held two spurious championships. He won the World Boxing Empire