And Fury, fresh off his emphatic win over Dillian Whyte, has claimed he can understand why the former heavyweight champion acted like he did, if he had indeed been antagonised. He told Piers Morgan: “Mike Tyson is a real O.G. and you can’t mess with Mike because you don’t know what he’s going to do.
“The fun police will be on Mike to get cancelled but how long can you prod a lion with a stick? He’s not the man you want to prod. If he’s man enough to prod Mike Tyson, touch him and abuse him, then man up and take a punch in the face. He should be paying Mike. Now he can say he’s been punched in the face by a legend. I’d pay for that myself.”
In response to the attack, a spokesperson for Tyson described the alleged victim as ‘aggressive’ and accused him of ‘throwing a water bottle’ at the 55-year-old whilst on the plane. A statement read: “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.”
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As well as support from fellow heavyweight Fury, Tyson’s reaction has also been defended by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. The American took to Twitter to have his say on the matter, tweeting: “If you’re being heckled in public like Mike Tyson was you should legally get a hall pass to beat someone’s ass.
“This generation thinks they can get away with anything.” Paul and Tyson’s names have been heavily linked in recent months, with the pair rumoured to be lining up an exhibition bout which would see the former heavyweight champion make a remarkable return to the ring aged 55, a whole 30 years older than his proposed opponent.