As reported by The LA Times, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has categorically stated that he will not comply with a pre-litigation settlement demand of $450,000 made by Melvin Townsend III, the man who claims to have been repeatedly punched by Tyson on a flight departing from San Francisco International Airport back in April 2022.
Attorney Jake Jondle, representing Townsend, sent a letter to Tyson’s attorney, Alex Spiro, last week, seeking a substantial settlement “in an effort to resolve this matter prior to protracted litigation.” Jondle proposed that, in exchange for the amount, Townsend would provide Tyson with a mutually agreeable release, preventing any future lawsuits related to the incident.
However, Spiro, responded to the demand, stating unequivocally, “There will be no shakedown payment.” Spiro dismissed the letter as a “shakedown letter related to some instigator’s harassment of Mike a year ago and the aftermath.”
The altercation between Tyson and Townsend took place on a JetBlue Airways flight bound for Florida on April 20, 2022. Townsend, reportedly intoxicated, was seated behind Tyson and allegedly making offensive remarks. The incident escalated, with video footage posted by TMZ showing Tyson standing and punching Townsend in the face multiple times.
In the letter presented to TheTimes
last week, Jondle presented Townsend’s account of the incident.“It is our position that Mr. Townsend was excited to see your client on the flight, began discussing the marijuana industry and psychedelic mushrooms with him, and Mr. Tyson became annoyed,” Jondle wrote. “Mr. Tyson then reached over the seat, grabbed Mr. Townsend by the shirt collar, and proceeded to repeatedly punch him in the head.
“As a former undisputed heavyweight champion, the potential to cause severe injuries to another person goes without question. There were several other remedies available to Mr. Tyson, but he chose physical violence.”
Despite the incident, neither Townsend nor Tyson desired criminal charges, and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office decided not to pursue the case in the criminal justice system.
Jondle’s letter, dated Nov. 28, indicates that if the demand is not met, Townsend intends to pursue legal action, claiming he suffered immediate physical effects, ongoing health issues, and loss of employment due to the incident.
The letter also mentions an appearance by Tyson on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2022, during which Tyson laughed about the altercation but expressed remorse over the incident.
“I was wrong; that should’ve never happened,” Tyson said to Kimmel. “That’s me back in my primitive child stages, I shouldn’t have done that, but I was just irritated, tired, high, and pissed off.”
The legal battle between Tyson and Townsend now looms on the horizon, as the former undisputed heavyweight champion refuses to entertain the pre-litigation settlement.
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