Mike Tyson Reveals How He Once Tried to Pay to Fight a Silverback Gorilla

Back in the 80's Mike Tyson, the youngest and undisputed world heavyweight champion decided he would like to test his skills against one of nature's own heavyweights.

The boxer detailed how he had paid a zookeeper to open after hours just for him and his then-wife Robin Givens.

Upon his private tour, the boxer noticed a particularly brutish silverback gorilla who was dominating over the others like a bully. The hard man with a soft heart Tyson took it as his personal duty to remedy the situation by throwing some punches at the primate. Tyson stated:

“I paid a worker at New York’s zoo to re-open it just for me and Robin. 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. 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."

The heavyweight tried to bribe the zookeeper with $10,000 USD (£8,000) to go in there and teach the silverback a lesson. The keeper, of course, refused the offer but it does beg the question who would win in a fight, Mike Tyson or a silverback gorilla?

Who would win?

A study conducted in 1924 shows that Gorillas are 9 times stronger than the average human. They can lift up to 815kgs while Lasha Talakhadzem, who is considered to be one of the greatest super heavyweights of all time in Olympic weight lifting, currently holds the record of lifting 264kgs in a clean and jerk lift. Now Tyson is no average man so it can only be assumed that he would be pretty strong but according to this information, Tyson's chances don't look good.

The silverback gorilla also has long arms that support most of its bodyweight and are capable of tearing down banana trees, which means that its arms are always ready to throw a strong hit. Not to mention gorillas don't have boxing rules and if Tyson was bitten by the primate there would definitely be an ambulance on the way. Gorillas have a bite of 1300 pounds per square inch. For comparison, the bites of a shark and a lion both hover around 600-650 psi.

It is safe to say that the zookeeper declined Tysons offer as not only would he be responsible for any consequences but the legendary Mike Tyson would ultimately lose his title and probably his life to the primate.