A pushy paparazzo took a shot he wished he hadn’t Wednesday – a fist to the face from Mike Tyson that put him on his back.

The incident occurred at Terminal 7 in front of numerous witnesses about 4:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles Airport Police. The paparazzo, who suffered a minor cut to his forehead, was not identified.

Tyson, 43, told investigators that the paparazzo struck him in an apparent attempt to provoke him, according to a police source who asked not to be named because the matter involved an open investigation.

The paparazzo told police that the former heavyweight boxing champion struck him once, airport police spokesman Sgt. Jim Holcomb said. The paparazzo fell to the ground and was treated for a cut to his forehead at a hospital.

Tyson’s spokeswoman Tammy Brook said the boxer was traveling with his wife and 10-month-old child Wednesday afternoon when he was attacked by an overly aggressive paparazzo. The 43-year-old acted in self-defense to protect his child, she said.

Both men wanted to press charges of battery against each other, said Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the airport police. Trying to determine exactly what had happened was a difficult because of the varying accounts of witnesses.

Tyson was booked for misdemeanor battery, but later released on his own recognizance.

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