Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion, reportedly struck a passenger on a plane ready to leave San Francisco after being frustrated by the man’s attempts to communicate with him.
In the altercation on Wednesday, cell phone footage showed Tyson leaning over the back of his seat and unleashing a flurry of strikes to the man, who appeared to be bruised and bleeding.
When the passenger and his companion boarded the plane, “Iron Mike” was friendly at first, but reacted when the man “wouldn’t stop provoking” him, according to the TMZ entertainment website.
According to the report, the man “continued trying to chat” to the 55-year-old combatant.
“Tyson had had enough of the guy chatting in his ear from behind him. and told him to take it easy. When the victim didn’t comply, the witness claims Tyson began throwing blows at the man’s face.”
Before the plane took off for Florida, Tyson was said to have walked off.
On Thursday, US police, JetBlue Airlines, and Tyson’s reps all declined to comment.
Tyson is regarded as one of the best heavyweights of all time, but he is also notorious for his unpredictable conduct, including biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in a 1997 fight, and legal troubles, including a rape conviction and a cocaine addiction.
