A passenger who was hit in the face by Mike Tyson threw a bottle of water at him before the collision, his representatives said.
Mobile phone footage shows the 55-year-old Tyson hitting a man in the seat behind him.
Representatives of the former world heavyweight champion said: “Unfortunately, Mr Tyson had an accident during a flight with an aggressive passenger who started harassing him and threw a bottle of water at him while he was in place.”
A source close to Tyson said the man was “very drunk” and “will not stop provoking him”.
The incident happened after Tyson boarded a flight at San Francisco International Airport to Florida. He apparently left the plane shortly after the collision.
The other passenger had cuts on his forehead, photos show, but “refuses to cooperate” in a police investigation.
A witness said he and his friend boarded at the same time, and Tyson, nicknamed Iron Mike, was happy to take selfies with them.
He seemed to lose his temper quickly when the man in the back seat tried to talk to him.
San Francisco police responded to a “physical altercation” on a plane at the airport’s inner terminal at around 10pm on Wednesday, officials said.
“Officers arrived and detained two people believed to be involved in the incident. One was treated on the spot for non-life-threatening injuries,” police said.
“This entity provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation.”
Both were released pending further investigation.
Ever since Tyson retired from boxing, he has worked as an actor, podcast and cannabis entrepreneur.
He was apparently in San Francisco for the annual Cannabis Festival 420 at Golden Gate Park, where he promoted his cannabis brand Tyson 2.0.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1987 at the age of 20. During his career, he won 50 fights, 44 of them by knockout.
Add Comment