Mike Tyson Claims He Once Offered a Zookeeper $10,000 to Punch a Gorilla

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson recently made a bizarre confession to The UK Sun. According to Tyson, he once offered a zookeeper $10,000 in order to fight a gorilla.

Tyson told the British publication that he attempted to pay a zookeeper $10,000 for the chance to punch a silverback gorilla that was said to be bullying the other apes. The event happened in the late 1980s. At the time, Tyson paid to have the New York Zoo opened solely for himself and his then wife Robin Givens go out for a romantic, private date.

However, then Tyson said he saw a gorilla apparently “bullying” the other gorillas. He stated to The Sun: “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 an innocent infant. I offered the attendant $10,000 to open the cage and let smash that silverback’s snotbox! He declined.”

To clarify, Mike Tyson never actually hit or punched a gorilla during this outing. Thankfully, the zookeeper turned the offer down. In the past, Mike Tyson has also come to own tigers as pets.