On Thursday, a now-viral video of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson repeatedly punching a fellow passenger on a JetBlue flight from San Francisco to Florida has surfaced.
Now, Tyson revealed the real reason why he was forced to punch the man.
A spokesperson for the boxing Hall of Famer confirmed Tyson had an “incident with an aggressive passenger” that was “harassing him”.
On Wednesday night, ‘Iron’ Mike was said to be traveling from San Francisco to Florida and had a brief conversation with a pair of fans, he took photos with them before the flight departed.
However, the man who was reportedly punched Tyson relentlessly harassed the boxing champ, chatting him up while waving his hands close to Mike’s head. Facing forward in his seat, and seemingly antagonizing him. But the heavyweight remained unresponsive.
The tensions began to grow when the man proceeded to throw the bottle at Tyson, but after asking him to ‘chill’ when Tyson became irritated. Tyson loses his composure and hit the man a number of times – causing him to draw blood.
The footage shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat as he repeatedly punches the identified man, who appeared to be left with bruises and some bleeding in the incident
In a statement to TMZ, Tyson’s representatives say the youngest heavyweight world champion was “harassed,” Tyson’s team said in the statement:
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him.”
“And threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
On Twitter, the San Francisco Police Department issued a statement about the incident.
The department wrote:
“On Wednesday April 20, 2022 at approximately 10:06 PM, officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal”
“Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident + refused to cooperate further with the investigation.”
(1/3) On Wednesday April 20, 2022 at approximately 10:06 PM, officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal of @flySFO. pic.twitter.com/orgizXQ2YF
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) April 22, 2022
(3/3) Both subjects were released under 849(b) of the CA Penal Code pending further investigation. We are aware of video that possibly captured the incident, which surfaced following the initial investigation. That video has been forward to @SMCSheriff.
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) April 22, 2022
Some celebrities supported Tyson about the incident.
Rapper and actor Ice T tweeted:
“Mike Tyson punched somebody who was Fn with him……. The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON’T get punched in the Face…”
Mike Tyson punched somebody who was Fn with him……. The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON’T get punched in the Face…
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) April 21, 2022
UFC chief Dana White wrote:
“Hey dummies, for future reference, this is how you stay alive when bumping into @MikeTyson on an airplane.”
Hey dummies, for future reference, this is how you stay alive when bumping into @MikeTyson on an airplane. pic.twitter.com/gJFoKOtmkO
— danawhite (@danawhite) April 21, 2022
Watch it here: Youtube/TMZ Sports
Sources: Westernjournal, Foxnews, Washingtonpost