The man beaten by Mike Tyson on a plane on Wednesday night declined to press charges following the incident.
Video footage obtained by TMZ emerged yesterday which showed an altercation between heavyweight boxing legend Tyson and an unnamed fellow passenger. Through a spokesperson, Tyson later claimed he had had a bottle of water thrown at him by the man who had earlier asked for a selfie.
Police confirmed to ESPN that they were called to the incident in San Francisco a little after 10pm as the plane prepared for take-off. They spoke to two men, neither of whom they identified, before both were released. "That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation," an officer said.
The police went on to say they were aware of the video which had been forwarded to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Tyson's spokesperson, meanwhile, claimed the former undisputed world champion had been harassed. "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," they said.
The video released by TMZ appears to show Tyson repeatedly landing blows on the other passenger who is later filmed with blood on the right hand side of his face. Tyson is understood to have left the plane, which was bound for Florida, after the incident.
The 55-year-old returned to the ring in 2020 when he took on fellow legend Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout which was ultimately scored a draw. Tyson has flirted with returning to the ring again having held talks with Evander Holyfield over a trilogy bout.
He has also been called out by both Paul brothers Jake and Logan but no fight has materialised. Jake was among those who leapt to support Tyson following the incident, tweeting: "If you’re being heckled in public like Mike Tyson was you should legally get a hall pass to beat someone’s ass. This generation thinks they can get away with anything."
