Tyson Fury has leapt to Mike Tyson's defence after the heavyweight legend punched a fellow passenger on a plane.
Tyson was filmed hitting a man on a plane which was bound for San Francisco. The alleged victim was later identified as Melvin Townsend III who has been accused of harassing the former undisputed world champion.
And Fury claims he understands why Tyson acted as he did, if he had indeed been antagonised. "Mike Tyson is a real O.G. and you can't mess with Mike because you don't know what he's going to do," he told Piers Morgan. "The fun police will be on Mike to get cancelled but how long can you prod a lion with a stick? He's not the man you want to prod.
"If he's man enough to prod Mike Tyson, touch him and abuse him, then man up and take a punch in the face. He should be paying Mike. Now he can say he's been punched in the face by a legend. I'd pay for that myself."
Following the incident last week, a spokesperson for Tyson said: "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."
The alleged victim later released a statement through his lawyer in which he denied throwing anything at the 55-year-old. “Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan," said the lawyer. "When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial.
"At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson."
Tyson has not been short of support since the incident with YouTube star tuned boxer Jake Paul 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."
