Man Mike Tyson punched is criminal fraudster who spent three years in prison

The man who Mike Tyson repeatedly punched on a plane is a criminal who has nearly three years of prison time on his rap sheet.

Melvin George Townsend III, from Punta Gorda, Florida, has previously been jailed for 20 months and 15 months with convictions for fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances and trafficking in stolen property.

The 36-year-old's identity was revealed by TMZ. He was most recently released from prison in July 2020 after breaking onto a property and stealing a trailer two years prior. That incident, along with the use of a fraudulent personal ID, landed him a 25-month sentence of which he served 15 months.

Footage emerged earlier this week of Townsend being punched by Tyson and having a bloodied head as a result. It's been claimed he threw a water bottle at the former boxer which provoked the attack.

A representative for Tyson said: "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."

Both Townsend and Tyson left the JetBlue aircraft which was at the San Francisco Airport. A spokesperson said Townsend "provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation".

The San Francisco Police Department are aware of the footage, and have passed it on to San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. It's unclear if the authorities will pursue charges against Tyson.

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