Man punched by Mike Tyson on plane demands $450K, but lawyer says the ex-champ won’t pay ‘shakedown’

An attorney representing Mike Tyson said the former heavyweight champion will not pay a pre-litigation settlement demand of nearly half a million dollars to a man who says he was punched repeatedly in the face by Tyson on a plane at San Francisco International Airport last year.

Attorney Jake Jondle sent a letter last week on behalf of client Melvin Townsend III to Tyson attorney Alex Spiro asking for $450,000 “in an effort to resolve this matter prior to protracted litigation.” The letter has been viewed by The Times.

“In exchange for that amount, Mr. Townsend will provide your client with a mutuallyagreeable release that will bar him from filing a future lawsuit, as well as reasonable terms requested by your client,” Jondle wrote in the letter. “If we are unable to reach an agreement, we will continue to prepare Mr. Townsend’s case for the filing of a lawsuit.”

In a statement emailed to The Times, Spiro said his client has no intention of making a “shakedown payment” to Townsend.

“I have received a shakedown letter related to some instigator’s harassment of Mike a year ago and the aftermath,” Spiro wrote. “There will be no shakedown payment.”

Jondle did not respond to multiple requests for comment by The Times.

The incident between Tyson and Townsend occurred April 20, 2022, when Townsend was seated in the row directly behind Tyson on a Jetblue Airways flight set to depart from San Francisco for Florida. Townsend appeared intoxicated and was allegedly making rude remarks toward passengers, San Mateo County Dist. Atty. Steve Wagstaffe told The Times in May 2022.

Matt Morgan, an attorney for Townsend, told TMZ last year that Townsend denies reports he threw a water bottle at Tyson. Video posted by TMZ appears to show Tyson standing and reaching over his seat to repeatedly punch Townsend in the face, while at least one other passenger calls for him to stop.