“Overly Excited” Plane Passenger Punched by Mike Tyson Speaks Out

Boxing legend Mike Tyson shouldn’t have stepped into the ring with a fellow plane passenger, says the alleged victim’s legal team.

Lawyers representing the man who was allegedly punched in the face by Tyson on a recent JetBlue flight are sharing their client’s version of the story. 

In a statement obtained by NBC, attorney Matt Morgan of Morgan & Morgan described his client, Melvin George Townsend III, as a “big Mike Tyson fan” who “became overly excited” upon seeing the heavyweight boxing champion on an April 20 flight from San Francisco.  

“At first their interaction was cordial,” Morgan noted. “At a certain point, Mr. Tyson became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him.”  

“This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting a flight attendant,” Morgan continued. “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.”