The man who was punched by Mike Tyson after allegedly harassing the boxing legend aboard a JetBlue airplane at the San Francisco Airport has been identified.
Melvin George Townsend III, who is 36 years and resides in Punta Gorda, Florida has served 20- and 15-month prison sentences for a variety of crimes, including possession of Oxycodone, burglary, and grand theft, fraud, and trafficking stolen property, according to a records search. In one 2018 incident, he stole a trailer by trespassing and hitching the unit to his pickup, reports revealed.
Townsend was last released from a Florida prison in July of 2020 after serving 15 months of a 25-month sentence for that incident and his use of a fraudulent personal ID. He previously did time for trafficking stolen property in 2009 and 2010.
According to reports, Townsend has a lawyer, although he is yet to sue the 55-year-old boxer.
“To state the obvious, as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Mr. Tyson should have exercised greater restraint before using his hands on an overly excited fan,” Townsend’s attorney, Matt Morgan, told local media.
Townsend is still in shock, according to Morgan, who also left open the possibility of a lawsuit.
“[Townsend has] not decided on what his next steps will be. He hired counsel due to his physical injuries, the overwhelming nature of this event, and the associated media inquiries,” Matt Morgan said.
Events Leading to the Attack
Witnesses claim Tyson was initially “cool” with all his fellow passengers, including the passenger who sat behind him and his friend. Per reports, Mike even agreed to take a selfie with one of them and remained patient with the other man sitting in the row behind him.
However, Tyson soon grew tired of engaging with the fan and reportedly asked him to be quiet, but the passenger reportedly continued to annoy the American boxer and that was when he snapped, some reports claimed. As the man continued talking, Tyson then stood, turned, and threw several punches to the man’s face and forehead.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey… Mike, come on, stop that,” a man was heard saying on a cell phone footage.
Another video of the aftermath of the incident shows the man with traces of blood on his forehead.
“My boy just got beat up by Mike Tyson. Yeah, he got messed up. Just trying to ask for an autograph. I don’t know what happened,” the man shooting the video said.
Tyson, however, claims he was reacting to an unruly passenger who had been harassing him and actually threw a water bottle at the boxing legend.
“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,” a representative for Tyson told local media.
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