Mike Tyson ripped a mink coat with his bare hands in a brawl with Mitchell Rose, the first man to knock out heavyweight phenom Butterbean.
The tale was so wild it made it into the late Rose’s aptly entitled book ‘Mike Tyson Tried to Kill My Daddy’ released in 2008, and changed from ‘The Man That Beat Butterbean Now Has To Beat These City Streets’ initially released in 2007. There’s no doubt that Rose tried to make the most of the incident that went down at Brooklyn’s Sugar Hill Club on December 16, 2001. But the fact that Rose had previously defeated Tyson-rival Eric’ Butterbean Esch only added to the startling story.
Later claiming for his injuries and stating in his lawsuit that Tyson ‘ripped his mink coat with his bare hands,’ Rose wanted punitive damages of $50 million and a total of $66 million.
Speaking to Matt Yanofsky in 2007, Rose gave more detail about the incident fourteen years before he passed away, sadly at the age of 51.
The former Golden Gloves champion began by outlining what the book was about.
“The book is about my life and some of the things I endured growing up in Brooklyn. It talks about the Highlight of my life, which was knocking out Butterbean, which earned me a lot of respect. It is still exciting eleven years later because I still get love and respect from the fans. I have moved on in life, but it will forever be a great moment.”
Asked about the infamous Tyson incident, Rose replied: “I was hanging out at a club called Sugar Hill in Brooklyn when I saw Mike and approached him. I shook his hand, started talking to him, and then we drank a little bit.
“As we were leaving the club, I made a comment to Mike which upset him because I asked him to be careful with the women he was with. Mike charged at me and attacked me.
“We got into a wrestling match, and luckily, I slipped out of his ferocious grip but ended up tumbling on the ground, severely injuring my elbow.”
It was in the lawsuit where Rose describes how Tyson tore his coat and how he thought $50 million in damages was a fair amount.
Concluding the interview with Yanofsky, Rose gave an insight into how those two high-profile happenings in his life defined his legacy despite a 2-11 boxing record.
“Although my career was not as successful as it could have been, I still enjoyed it. I loved the moment of beating up Butterbean in front of 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden.
“I also like how Tyson tried to knock me out but couldn’t! The Tyson debacle did lead to great publicity,” said Rose.
Mitch Rose was laid to rest on February 23, 2021, following a battle with illness. He will forever be remembered for his feat at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Oscar de la Hoya vs. Jess James Leija on December 15, 1995.
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