Former Boxing Champion Mike Tyson Caught On Video Hitting Airplane Passengers

By Yordanos Belayneh

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

A fan was caught in between a fist and a rude awakening when a former boxing champion was caught on video punching the passenger repeatedly.

Based on video footage taken by TMZ, Mike Tyson was videoed punching a passenger after an incident broke out Wednesday night on a JetBlue flight scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. PT from San Francisco International Airport to Florida.

On Wednesday evening around 10 p.m. PT, police officers "were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal of the San Francisco International Airport," according to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

Tyson and the unidentified passenger were detained, police said. The passenger was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from SFPD.

"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 spokesperson representing Tyson told USA TODAY Sports.

The passenger was seated directly behind Tyson and is captured excitingly trying to talk to the heavyweight boxing champion. Soon after it is shown that Tyson stood up and unloaded a flurry of punches.

“I respect it. Mike has been through a lot battling mental health and It was a human reaction that just ended up being recorded because he’s Mike Tyson,” said longtime boxing fan and Hampton University student, Timothy McDowell. “It could have been anyone.’’

The San Francisco Police Department and JetBlue Airlines have not yet responded to the incident.