Mike Tyson Punching 'Victim' Has Long Rap Sheet

Mike Tyson riles easy, and we've seen that over the years as the boxing legend has battled it out as much in court, as he has done so in the ring. The "baddest man on the planet" as he was once known let his fists fly last week, punching what seemed to be a "hapless" fan who kept bothering him to the point of no return.

But now it seems the victim was also partly to blame, as he's been discovered to have a rather long rap sheet. This is what we know...

Last week, on Wednesday, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, 55, was preparing to fly from San Francisco to Florida, out of San Francisco International Airport. He boarded a JetBlue flight and seemed all smiles at first, clicking selfies with fans and socializing as celebrities do.

A witness said that he and his friend spotted Tyson on the JetBlue flight, who seemed to be okay with all the attention he got from them. The witness told TMZ that Tyson even took selfies with him but his super-excited friend would not leave Tyson alone. The punching victim kept badgering the heavyweight who told the guy to “chill” but when he didn’t, Tyson got up and began to throw some punches. This was captured on video as well.

According to Fox News, the man who was filmed being punched has lawyered up and the lawyer, Matt Morgan, later said that he was just an "overly excited fan."

Morgan told NBC: "At first their interaction was cordial. 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. 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."

The man, now identified as Melvin Townsend III, allegedly threw a bottle of water at Tyson ahead of the incident, though he denies doing so. Either way, angering a man known for his short fuse, is not the wisest of decisions. That said, the victim, who was left bruised and bloodied by Tyson, has not pressed charges for the incident.

Had he done so, Tyson could have faced a felony for the scuffle. Chicago-based attorney Andrew Stoltmann spoke to Fox News Digital, saying, "historically [speaking], trained fighters, mixed martial artists, are usually held by both police and judges to a higher standard in large part because it goes to intent. A trained fighter realizes they have the ability to inflict more extensive damage than a layperson and a typical defense in these sorts of claims is self-defense. Right? Tyson was defending himself from this gentleman. Well, when you’re the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, that defense is almost completely eviscerated."

Tyson was captured on video using the man as a punching bag on the Wednesday flight and later appeared at a weed conference after-party in Miami. Prior to the pummelling, the victim, now being seen as a harasser, is seen on the video posted by TMZ standing over Tyson’s seat, gesticulating excitedly while Tyson sat quietly on the seat, ignoring him.

Ice-T stands with Tyson, calling Townsend a "clowna*s" who "forgot he was NOT behind his keyboard." He added, "The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON'T get punched in the face..."

In another tweet, he added, "If dumbf**ks said the type of s**t they say to me on HERE face to face... I know I'd be in prison."

We know Tyson is no angel and had a rap sheet. But then again, so does the guy who got pummeled.

According to TMZ, Townsend has been convicted of fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances, and trafficking in stolen property. That's quite a feat.

In 2018, the 36-year-old broke onto a property and stole a trailer that he hitched to his pickup. The drug possession charge was for oxycodone and official docs don't mention other specifics. He has also served time twice, once for 20 months and another time for 15 months. So there are no innocents in this story, right?