Former heavyweight champion and baddest man on the planet Mike Tyson repeatedly punched a passenger on a JetBlue plane, according to a video released by TMZ on Thursday.
In the video, filmed Wednesday night, the former boxer can be seen repeatedly punching a passenger who sat behind him while another passenger tries to restrain him and the person holding the camera tells him “it’s not worth it.” Afterwards, the victim can be seen with a bloodied forehead.
Another video, apparently from moments before the altercation, shows the passenger standing behind a seated Tyson talking to him while Tyson looks forward, seemingly trying to ignore the passenger.
According to TMZ, the flight was scheduled to depart from San Francisco and land in Florida. A witness told TMZ that Tyson walked off the plane after the incident before take off.
The same witness says that Tyson was initially cool with the passenger, who Tyson’s camp says was “extremely intoxicated” and would not stop provoking the boxer who last competed in an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 after 15 years out of the ring.
The victim received medical attention after the altercation and spoke to police, according to the witness, but no announcement about charges being filed has come out yet. The voice behind the camera says the victim was asking for an autograph.
Mike Tyson was dubbed “the baddest man on the planet” when he burst onto the boxing scene in the 1980s. At age 20, he became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time and was the first to unify the WBA (World Boxing Association) WBC (World Boxing Council) and IBF (International Boxing Federation) titles. He became the lineal champion after defeating Michael Spinks in 91 seconds.
But the International Boxing Hall of Famer’s career has also been mired in controversy and legal issues. In 1992, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison, but was released on parole after serving three years.
In 1999, he was sentenced to one year in prison and two years probation for assaulting two motorists in a road rage incident.
This most recent incident is not the first time Tyson had issues with fans. In 2004, Tyson agreed to a plea deal resulting in community service after fighting two fans in a hotel lobby who were asking for an autograph.
Tyson maintained that he did nothing wrong and accused the two men of attacking him, being quoted by the New York Post at the time as saying “I didn't do anything wrong. They jumped me. They're the ones with guns.” But no guns were found at the scene, according to police.
More recently, Tyson was in the headlines after a fan pulled a gun on him in a comedy club. During that incident Tyson remained calm and even hugged the man after he put his gun away.
Tyson currently runs a cannabis company that recently added wrestling legend Ric Flair to its list of celebrity tie-ins.
JetBlue and the San Francisco police have not responded to requests for comment by TMZ.