Former U.S. heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson lashed out at a passenger who appeared to be bothering him on a plane, leaving him with bruises on his face, TMZ reported Thursday.
On a video posted on social networks, we can see “Iron Mike” punching a passenger behind his seat. The incident occurred before a flight Wednesday between San Francisco and Florida, said the site specializing in celebrity news.
The 55-year-old former boxer, who dominated the heavyweights between the 1980s and 1990s, allegedly began punching the passenger minutes after boarding, according to a witness quoted by TMZ.
This same witness specifies that the passenger behind Mike Tyson was constantly trying to talk to the boxer in a frantic way. Mike Tyson would then have asked him to calm down, in vain, before he himself lost his temper and turned around to hit him. A photo of the incident shows the passenger with bloodstains on his temple.
The former champion disembarked from the plane in stride, according to TMZ, which claims that the passenger filed a complaint.
Contacted by AFP, the San Francisco police, the airline JetBlue and the agency representing Mike Tyson did not react immediately.
Mike Tyson is one of the most iconic figures in boxing history.
Youngest heavyweight world champion, queen category, in 1986 at 20 years and 4 months, “Kid Dynamite” chained the moments of glory, with in particular a series of 37 fights without defeat at the beginning of his career, but also the skids , with an unlikely loss in 1991 and a tragicomic match against Evander Holyfield in 1997.
Mike Tyson was also convicted in 1992 of rape and imprisoned for almost three years. In 2007, he further admitted to a cocaine addiction.