1995 video of Mike Tyson fight leads to speculation one viewer was a time traveler due to ‘smartphone’ image

A claim by an independent US presidential candidate that he could time travel failed to excite American voters in comparison to the shocking pronouncements and outlandish hairdo of leading Republican contender Donald Trump. However, LIGO scientists’ confirmation of the existence of gravitational waves, which brings the world closer to time travel, created a lot of buzz in social media in February.

It only showed the continuing interest of the public in time travel when coming from credible sources. However, there are occasions when apparent evidence could spark speculations, such as a 1995 video of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson fighting Peter McNeeley.

The poster of the video on YouTube, JammyBantam, believes there was a time traveler present because on spectator appears to be holding a smartphone to video the match. Smartphones came out only beginning in 2012, which makes it appear the so-called time traveler appeared at least 17 years ahead.

However, Gizmodo reports that Snopes, a website that debunks hoaxes, points out it was not a smartphone but a handheld camera that was available during that era. Among the likely brands and models cited were the Casio QC-10A and the Logitech Fotoman.

The same models were cited by Cofo72 and Nirwan Yussanto, respectively, in the comments section of the YouTube video. Al moon adds, “this vid is more unexplained stupidity from the uploader.”

The identification of handheld camera models led to sarcastic remarks like that from Trevor Regay who says “if it was a time traveler I sure hope he place his bet on Tyson … after all, he should have know Tyson was going to win that fight.” NUNYA BIZNES adds she “saw” Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger in the background, which provoked a chide from badcatinbronx who writes, “Why is it necessary to lie and making fun from naïve people. You got a realistic answer in the comments already.”

However, JammyBantam points out if it was the QV-100, it lacks the silver bit on the right and the black line under the lens. Another YouTuber, AllThings Creepy, counters JammyBantam’s argument, saying, “I did some research and there were some very sophisticated camcorders for their time period that look somewhat like this … this is just someone with a relatively new camera.”