On Wednesday, a now-viral video filmed on a plane appears to show Mike Tyson repeatedly punching a fellow passenger in the face after the man reportedly provoked the boxer in his seat.
According to TMZ, the incident occurred while Tyson was preparing to fly out of San Francisco International Airport to Florida on Wednesday night.
The footage that was first shared by TMZ, said it was recorded on a JetBlue plane bound for Florida.
A witness said the passenger was overly excited upon discovering he was sitting behind Tyson, and he secured a selfie with him. But as the passenger continued to try to talk to Tyson, he apparently annoyed him enough to be told to relax. The outlet also reports via a source that the man was “extremely intoxicated and wouldn’t stop provoking the boxer in his seat.”
The video shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat repeatedly striking the unidentified man in the head, drawing blood.
More exclusive details of this incident from TMZ reports:
Eventually, though, we’re told Tyson had enough of the guy behind him talking in his ear … and told him to chill. When the guy didn’t, that’s when the witness says Tyson started to throw several punches at the man’s face.
The video we obtained shows Tyson throwing a flurry of blows at the man, which you can see bloodied the passenger’s forehead. The witness says Mike walked off the plane just seconds later.
We’re told the man who was punched received medical attention and then went to the police over the incident. We’ve reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.
Watch it here: TMZSports/Youtube
TMZ got a statement from Tyson’s reps reading:
“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.”
Tyson became a trending topic on the internet after the video was released, with a number of verified accounts on Twitter reacting positively to the boxer.
Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, got over a million views on an old video he shared, which shows him and Tyson in a light-hearted confrontation on a plane. White wrote: “Hey dummies, for future reference, this is how you stay alive when bumping into [Mike Tyson] 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
Many other people pointed out that the passenger was repeatedly “harassing” Tyson before being punched. Rapper and actor Ice-T wrote: “The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON’T get punched in the Face…” This tweet has received over 270,000 likes.
