Mike Tyson knows what he’s capable of and he’s not scared by a mere threat. The former professional boxer has been praised for his reaction when a man pulled a gun after challenging him to a fight.
Iron Mike was enjoying a small comedy show with friends on a rooftop bar in Hollywood on Tuesday night, March 22 when a random guy approached him and attempted to chat him up, disrupting everyone’s good time. The whole ordeal was captured in videos taken by fellow audience members at the show, but it wasn’t clear what the man was saying.
According to TMZ, eyewitnesses told them the man was actually challenging Mike to a fight, suggesting he wanted to elevate his “status.”
While the former boxing champion was seated calmly at his front-row table and didn’t engage with the man, someone who was reportedly the host/MC of the night pushed the man away and told someone to take him out.
That apparently upset the man, who then pulled out a gun from his waistband and cocked it in front of everyone. While everyone naturally gasped, Mike didn’t flinch. Thankfully, the man never fired the gun and apparently regretted it as he quickly put the gun away.
As he appeared to have calmed himself down, the apparent fan declared his love for Mike. “Hey I love you fam, salute to all of your accomplishments, for real,” he said, “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 man tried to play off his action as a joke, saying, “I told you am just joking.”
Mike was then seen signaling for the man to come over, but the man said, “No,” fearing that the owners would call police. But Mike insisted and the man went in for a handshake before Mike embraced him.
The incident reportedly left some of the patrons shaken and they didn’t want to leave immediately, afraid that the man might be lurking somewhere in the streets. After some time, Mike also departed the bar without incident.
LAPD says they were never called and the armed man was not identified
After videos of the incident surfaced online, many were left in awe of Mike’s calm reaction throughout the ordeal.
“The calmest individuals in these situations usually know how to actually fight,” one person raved.
Another said, “I guess no one has ever heard of the stories of what this man has been through. Of course, he’s calm.”
Not surprised, a fan wrote, “We all know he tough guy,” while someone else tweeted, “Mike a cold-blooded mf to sit there when somebody pull out a strap.”
Mike has not spoken up on the incident.