New Details Emerge After Mike Tyson Brutally Assaults Passenger On Flight To Florida

Yesterday, we reported that the boxing legend Mike Tyson had been caught on camera repeatedly punching a fellow passenger on a JetBlue flight from California to Florida. Now, new details have emerged about what led to this shocking assault.

But first, check out the fight for yourself in the video below.

Backstory: Disturbing Moment Mike Tyson Repeatedly Punches Airplane Passenger

Tyson Angered Over Water Bottle Being Thrown At Him

It has since been revealed that Tyson, 55, became angry after the other passenger threw a water bottle at him after boarding the flight.

“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 representative for Tyson told Daily Mail.

Officers with the San Francisco Police Department said that they responded to the scene and detained two individuals who they believe were involved in this incident, with one of them being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. However, officers added that this person “provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation.”

A source close to Tyson said that the other passenger was “extremely intoxicated” and that the boxing legend told him to “chill” before the incident took a violent turn, according to ABC7 News. 

Related: When Mike Tyson Ingested Toad Venom, Here’s What Happened

Passenger Identified 

TMZ has since identified the man that Tyson punched as 36-year-old Melvin Townsend III, who has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances, and trafficking in stolen property. It is believed that while Tyson continued on with the flight to Miami, Townsend left the aircraft and stayed in San Francisco.

Tyson himself also has a long criminal record, serving three years in prison after being convicted of rape back in 1992, according to the BBC. In 1998, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault after a car accident in Maryland. 

Incidents of this kind on airplanes have been on the rise as of late, with over 7,000 unruly passenger incidents being reported to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States since February of 2021. However, over 70% of these incidents have been related to masking rules.

FAA Responds

“The FAA looks into all airline reports of passenger disturbances,” the FAA told CNN in response to the Tyson incident. The agency went on to direct reporters to local law enforcement for any further information.

With this incident, Tyson has shown the world once again that even though he is over 50, he is still not somebody to mess with! Regardless of what you think of the former boxer, fans will definitely think twice before pestering him in public places again.