Former world heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson was videoed during an altercation with a fellow passenger.
Authorities are investigating an incident in which Mike Tyson appeared to be punching a fellow first-class passenger who sat behind him aboard a plane at San Francisco International Airport.
The video shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat repeatedly striking the unidentified man in the head, drawing blood.
The footage was first shared by news outlet TMZ, which said it was recorded on a Jet Blue plane bound for Florida.
“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,” representatives for Tyson said in an email.
Prior to the physical altercation, the man involved is seen on the video standing over Tyson’s seat, waving his arms and talking animatedly while the former boxer sits quietly.
A witness, who is the “victim’s” friend, told TMZ that Tyson was initially cordial and even took a selfie with them, but when his friend didn’t heed Tyson’s warning to stop bothering him, the former pugilist allegedly lashed out physically.
San Francisco police responded to a “physical altercation” on a plane at the airport’s domestic terminal, officials said.
“Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation,” police said in a statement Thursday.
Both men involved in the incident were released pending further investigation, the statement added.
San Francisco police said the video has been shared with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the airport.
No further information regarding the case will be released to the public.
Since Tyson, 55, retired from boxing, he has diversified his portfolio and has worked as an actor, podcaster, and cannabis entrepreneur.
He was in San Francisco for the annual 420 cannabis festival in Golden Gate Park, where he was promoting his cannabis brand Tyson 2.0.
Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1987 at age 20.
Known for his unmatched power during his turbulent career marked by as many lows as highs, he won 50 fights, 44 of them by knockout making him one of the last people you would actually want to fight in real life.
Tyson was briefly barred from boxing after infamously biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight in 1997.
The former pugilists returned to the ring recently in a drawn contest.
