Mike Tyson Offered Zookeeper Over $10k To Fight A Silverback Gorilla

Never one to back down from a fight, former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson wanted to take on a beast that weighed nearly twice as much as him.

To fight a silverback gorilla, Mike Tyson apparently made a $10k deal with a zookeeper.

The former heavyweight world champion hit the scales at 100 kg at his peak, but he was never one to back down from a challenge and was eager to take on the animal that typically weighed nearly twice as much as him.

Actually, Tyson has always had a soft spot for animals. He enjoys homing pigeons and is well known for having kept some wildcats. Exotic tigers are the topic here.

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Tyson went to a zoo with his then-partner Robin Givens in the 1980s, when he was an undefeated heavyweight world champion/wrecking machine.

After paying to keep the zoo open after it closed, the pair had the entire area to themselves, allowing the champ to study the animals without the intense attention they would often get.

He recalled the story: "I paid a worker at New York's zoo to re-open it just for me and Robin.

(Image: Getty Images)

Tyson observed a gorilla mistreating the other animals as he strolled through the gorilla enclosure.         

“When we got to the gorilla cage there was one big silverback gorilla there just bullying all the other gorillas. They were so powerful but their eyes were like that of innocent infants.

Any normal person would have continued strolling by without blinking an eyelid, but Tyson isn't your average human. He was offended and desired to attend the exhibit.

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Accompanied by his wife, Tyson put a $10k (£8.1k) offer on the table during a trip out to the zoo.

“I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let me smash that silverback’s snot box. He declined.”

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Iron Mike is a huge animal lover, despite wanting to put the gorilla in his place. During his impressive career, he kept white tigers at his house until later in life, altering his mind about domestication.

“I had three of them in my house. This is how it happened, I was in prison and I was talking to one of my friends who I bought exotic cars from," Tyson explained.

“He was saying a friend he knew owed him money. And he said, ‘If he doesn’t pay me any money I’mma take some of these cars and trade them in for some animals.’

“I said, ‘What kind of animals?’ He said, ‘Horses and stuff. Mike they have some nice tigers and lions too. If you got one of those that would be so cool.’

“I said, ‘Yeah that would be true. Why don’t you order me a couple? I’m getting out in a couple of months.’ So when I got out I came home and I had two cubs.”