The man who was punched by Mike Tyson while traveling by a plane has been identified as a former convict.
On Wednesday, a video showing Mike Tyson beating up a JetBlue passenger went viral. Following the altercation, it has been reported that the pair initially had a cordial conversation.
Tyson, however, apparently grew tired of entertaining the passenger and asked him to be quiet. After the man, who was seated right behind the boxer, refused to stop talking to him, Tyson stood up and punched him repeatedly.
It has now been revealed that the victim is 36-year-old Melvin George Townsend III from Florida.
It has also come to light that Townsend served 15-month and 20-month sentences for a variety of crimes – including grand theft, fraud use of personal ID, possession of Oxycodone, trafficking stolen property, and burglary – that he committed back in 2008 and later in 2016 and 2018.
Now, following his showdown with the Baddest Man on the planet, Townsend has hired a lawyer and is reportedly deliberating a lawsuit.
“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,” the Florida man’s attorney, Matt Morgan, said in a statement to TMZ.
“[Townsend has] not made a determination 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.”
Meanwhile, Tyson’s representative spoke out and insisted the boxer only reacted after Townsend harassed him and threw a water bottle at him – a claim that has been denied by the victim’s lawyer.
“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 spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
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