Mike Tyson punched a passenger who was on an airplane during an incident that took place Wednesday night, based on video footage published online by TMZ. The video footage shows blood on the side of man’s head after the incident with the 55-year-old Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion. But before we go into the details, let’s talk about who Mike Tyson is.
Mike Tyson
Former world-renowned boxing champion Mike Tyson had to face a rough couple of years before he became a household name in boxing.
He was only two when his father abandoned him and his family. Lorna Smith Tyson then had to bear the responsibility of raising two sons and a daughter on her own. Mike Tyson’s mother died when he was 16, and his sister died in 1990 when she was only 24.
In his initial years, he won Junior Olympic Championship gold medals against Joe Cortez in 1981 and Kelton Brown in 1982, but his real professional break came on March 6, 1985 when he knocked out Hector Mercedes in the first round.
After that fight he had a number of continuous successes that would lead to both an improvement in the standards of his opponents as well as a corresponding increase in the media’s interest into the rising boxing star.
Although Cus D’Amato’s death in 1985 hit Tyson hard, his boxing success kept increasing due to his increased speed and accuracy. His name was included alongside fighters such as Dempsey and Ali, and many of his opponents were intimidated by him.
Airport Punching Incident
“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,” a spokesperson representing Tyson told USA TODAY Sports.
The passenger was sitting in the row behind Tyson and was excitedly trying to talk to the retired boxer before Tyson stood up, turned around and unloaded with a flurry of punches, the video footage shows.
A man shooting video of the incident said, “My boy just got beat up by Mike Tyson’’ and said the passenger was “just trying to ask for an autograph. Man, I don’t know what happened.’’
The incident took place on a JetBlue flight that was scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. PT from San Francisco International Airport to Florida, according to TMZ.
“On Wednesday April 20, 2022, at approximately 10:06 p.m., San Francisco Police officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal of the San Francisco International Airport,” the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. “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 and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation. Both subjects were released … pending further investigation.
“The SFPD is aware of video that possibly captured the incident, which surfaced following the initial investigation. That video has been forwarded to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.”
JetBlue did not respond to requests for information.
