Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, confronted along with others by a man who pulled a gun at a Hollywood rooftop bar comedy club on Tuesday night, remained ice-cold in his seat at the bar, never flinching as the man reportedly challenged him to a fight. Tyson then defused the entire situation when the man approached him, hugging him before the man left the club.
“While you can’t hear exactly what was being said in the footage, eyewitnesses tell us the man was actually challenging Mike to a fight — suggesting he wanted to elevate his ‘status,’” TMZ reported, adding that a man they were informed was the host/MC of the show had told the man to leave and started to shove him toward the exit, saying, “What the f*** are you doing? Get the f*** out of here. I’m not playing with you, get out of here, bro. I don’t give a f***.”
As he initially started to leave, the man said, “I’m joking, man.” The man then yanked a gun from his waistband and cocked it as startled customers frantically started ducking under tables while Tyson never moved. Changing his mind, the man put the gun back in his waistband and said, “I’m out of here” as he headed for the exit. Then he turned to Tyson and called, “’Hey I love you fam, salute to all of your accomplishments, for real, if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have no inspiration, I love you OG, for real. From the heart, for real. Respect,” the The Daily Mail reported.
Told to leave, he added, “I told you am just joking.” Tyson then called him over, but the man initially responded, “No,” but Tyson urges him to come over, whereupon the man approached Tyson and the two hugged. The man then said, “New York! Brownsville!” to reference the area Tyson grew up, then saluted Tyson before he started to exit, but called back, “you a sucker’ adding, “You a b**** a** n*****.”
After the man left, the crowd applauded Tyson. According to TMZ, the LAPD said they were never called; the armed man was not identified.
“It’s not the first time Tyson has been threatened with a firearm, with former coach Teddy Atlas allegedly pointing a gun to his head when the former boxer was just 15,” The Sun noted.
Tyson reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, winning his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 in the first round. He became the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title at the age of 20 years and four months, and became the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles.