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MOSCOW, RUSSIA NOVEMBER 28, 2017: American former professional boxer Mike Tyson at the Synergy Global Forum at Moscow’s Olimpiysky Arena. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
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MOSCOW, RUSSIA NOVEMBER 28, 2017: American former professional boxer Mike Tyson at the Synergy Global Forum at Moscow’s Olimpiysky Arena. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
The former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson has never shied away from controversies. On 20th April 2022, the ‘Baddest Man on Planet‘ found himself at the center of an airplane altercation as he repeatedly punched a fellow passenger on a JetBlue flight to San Francisco.
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Days after the incident, the passenger, identified as George Townsend III, through his lawyer spoke to E! to put out a statement detailing his side of the story.
Lawyer claims Mike Tyson should have known better
Townsend’s lawyer claimed that he was an “overly excited fan” of the two-time heavyweight champion. Additionally, he claimed that Tyson could have handled the situation differently as he stated, “This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting a flight attendant.”
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LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 2015: Boxing Legend Mike Tyson poses for a portrait in December 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
Not only that, the lawyer told E! how Iron Mike could have avoided the altercation from ever happening. He said, “To state the obvious, as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Mr. Tyson should have known not to use his hands on an overly excited fan.”
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Furthermore, the allegations made by a rep close to Tyson to E! that Townsend threw a bottle at Tyson before the assault was denied by his lawyer.
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What happened on the plane?
The whole world was shocked when the news broke out that Mike Tyson had punched a passenger on the plane. It was later revealed that the JetBlue passenger had been harassing the former heavyweight champion.
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JULY 25: Mike Tyson speaks onstage during the “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truthts” panel | Courtesy: Getty Images
After their initial meeting, ‘Baddest Man on Planet’ got “agitated” as stated by the attorney, and began to strike. Hence, the “cordial interaction” between the two turned into a bare-knuckle assault leading to a worldwide controversy.
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WATCH THIS STORY: WATCH: 55-Year-Old Mike Tyson Goes Berserk as a Female Fan Gets Too Close
What do you think about the statement made by the passenger’s lawyer? Let us know in the comments below.
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