It looks like the passenger who got socked in the face by Mike Tyson is trying to get some coins out of the boxing legend.
According to the latest updated on the airline beat down, the man Mike Tyson repeatedly punched on a JetBlue plane has lawyered up, and possibly looking to file a lawsuit. Attorney Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, who reps Melvin Townsend III, tells TMZ, “Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan. When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial.” He goes on to say, “At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson.”
As it was previously reported, Mr. Townsend was captured goofing around Mike Tyson as the boxer tried to relax before taking off to Miami. However, Tyson’s team told TMZ Townsend had thrown a water bottle at Tyson, before Mike unleashed on him. Townsend was left bloodied and claims he suffered what appear to be minor injuries from the punches. Although he declined to press charges at the time and both he and Tyson were free to leave after the incident, it now looks like may have other plans. Attorney Morgan says, “To state the obvious, as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Mr. Tyson should have exercised greater restraint before using his hands on an overly excited fan.”
A source directly connected to Townsend says he, “Is still in shock and has not made a determination on what his next steps will be. He hired counsel due to his physical injuries, the overwhelming nature of this event and the associated media inquiries,” TMZ quotes.
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Not sure how strong his case may be. As it was pointed out by the news site, Townsend has had a few encounters with cops. As TMZ reports, Mr. Townsend has been convicted of fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances and trafficking in stolen property. The 36-year-old once broke into a property back in 2018 and allegedly stole a trailer that he hitched to his pickup. As for the drug possession offense, that was reportedly for oxycodone. Official docs don’t mention other specifics, TMZ notes. Now, it was said that he served time in the slammer… twice! One for 20 months and another time for 15 months.
Mike Tyson has still not publicly spoken out to share how he feels about this latest situation. However, he appeared to be all smiles after his airplane scuffle. Once he arrived in Florida that Thursday, he was seen in great spirits while smoking as he he pulled up to the Eden Roc hotel in Miami. He took photos with fans and preached “basic economics” on his way inside the luxury hotel. The heavyweight star had missed his initial flight Thursday, in which the altercation took place, and instead caught a ride with UFC President Dana White.
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