Boxing legend Mike Tyson is breaking his silence about his confrontation last month on a JetBlue flight. Speaking on the plane passenger’s bloody beatdown, Tyson blames it all on that fact that … “he was f***ing with me!!”
RELATED: Mike Tyson Punches Passenger On Plane Who Kept “Annoying” Him
Mike Tyson Breaks Silence On Bloody Beatdown On Plane
Since the beatdown, Tyson is finally addressing the confrontation and took to his Hotboxin podcast to open up. Tyson said, “He was f***ing with me, man. I took pictures wit this n***a.”
Like many people wondering why Tyson was even on a public flight, he goes on to explain that his wife has also urged him for a while to stop doing so.
Tyson said, “I shouldn’t even be taking public planes. My wife gets mad that I take public planes. What I’mma do on a f***ing plane with my friends, and a bodyguard and f***ing yes men. What I’mma do on a plane? It triggers me.”
Mike Tyson vs. Plane Passenger
As we reported in late April, Tyson lost his cool on a flight from San Francisco, California to Florida. He alleged at the time that an allegedly “extremely intoxicated” fan kept annoying him.
A witness claimed that Tyson was initially cool with them and the other passengers, even took a few selfies with a couple of them. However, one passenger, later identified as Melvin Townsend III, became a little too excited and kept trying to talk to the 55-year-old fighter, who was seated in the row ahead of him.
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Having had enough of the superfan bothering him, Tyson eventually got increasingly frustrated with the guy and asked him to calm down and leave him be. When the Townsend did the opposite, that’s when things escalated.
A witness claimed Tyson started to throw several punches at the Townsend’s face — and video obtained from the flight eventually showed Tyson punching on the fan, leaving him with a bloodied forehead.
Tyson then exited the plane while Townsend went on to receive medical attention and report the incident to the police. As an investigation went on, the public later found out about Mr. Townsend’s extensive criminal record. He has been convicted of fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances and trafficking in stolen property, and more.
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Plane Passenger Lawyers Up Against Mike Tyson
As we all expected, Townsend soon lawyered up, claiming excessive force against Tyson. Attorney Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, who reps Townsend, spoke out about the incident.
Morgan said, “Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan. When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial. 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. 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.”
RELATED: Mike Tyson Will Not Face Charges For Airplane Incident Due To ‘Conduct Of The Victim’
Mike Tyson Will Not Face Charges For Bloody Beatdown On Plane
Following Townsend lawyering up, the San Mateo County District Attorney announced that prosecutors would not be filing any charges against Tyson, strictly due to Townsend’s conduct during the flight.
After reviewing the viral clips for two weeks, DA Steve Wagstaffe said “We now deem the case closed. The conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson.”
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