- Tyson took offence to a bully silverback gorilla
- “Open the cage and let me smash that”
- Former boxer also had pet tigers and cared for pigeons
Mike Tyson fought some great boxing names in the 1980s, including the likes of Frank Bruno, Larry Holmes, and Michael Spinks – but the list might’ve been even wilder.
With all the current talk online at the moment about what it would take to beat a silverback gorilla, it’s worth remembering that Tyson once reportedly asked a zookeeper if he could fight one.
Read more: Expert weighs in on man versus gorilla debate
In 1986 Iron Mike became the youngest world champion at 20 years old when he defeated Trevor Berbick with a second-round TKO. It’s a record that still stands today.
A couple of years after the fight, Tyson has revealed he hired out an entire zoo to have a private tour solely for himself and his wife at the time, Robin Givens.
Read more: New York Zoo Feeds Baby Vulture with Hand Puppet
“I paid a worker at New York’s zoo to re-open it just for me and Robin,” he recalled, speaking to The Sun
Mike Tyson vs bully gorilla
When Tyson, also known as the Baddest Man on the Planet, visited a gorilla enclosure, he noticed one silverback gorilla acting like a bully.
“When we got to the gorilla cage there was one big silverback gorilla there just bullying all the other gorillas” said the former boxer.
He added, “They were so powerful but their eyes were like an innocent infant.”
Tyson was bullied as a child growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Brownsville, Brooklyn. So, when he encountered bullying inside the cage, he felt no fear and was compelled to take matters into his own hands. Literally.
“Open the cage and let me smash that”
Confident he could take on the gorilla, he tried to see how far his money and status could get him with the zookeeper.
“I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let me smash that silverback’s snotbox!”
Naturally, the zookeeper declined.
Despite Tyson wanting to smash the silverback, he’s known to be a big animal lover.
In the 1990’s he owned several pet tigers, reportedly spending around $100k on each of them. He formed a particularly strong bond with one tiger, named Kenya, though eventually he had to part ways with her when “she ripped somebody’s arm off”. You can watch him playing with one of his feline pets in the clip below:
The former world heavyweight champion also developed a deep connection with less dangerous creatures – pigeons.
He had a large collection of pigeons that he cared for as a child. Tyson has talked about how his bond with pigeons helped him cope with the hardships he faced growing up.
“I Always loved pigeons ever since I was a child. They teach us the importance of being compassionate. I created Iron Pigeons to share the deep love for these birds with my fans”, he wrote in an Instagram post.