Mike Tyson offered a zookeeper $14,000 to let him fight a silverback gorilla

A romantic date night at a New York zoo almost went down a devastating path for Mike Tyson. Thankfully a zookeeper shut him down.

Mike Tyson reportedly offered a zookeeper $14,000 AUD to let him fight a huge silverback gorilla during a romantic night out with his ex.

The boxing legend became the youngest heavyweight champion aged 20 back in 1986.

And “The Baddest Man on the Planet” clearly fancied his chances of going toe-to-toe with anyone … or anything.

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Tyson, 53, revealed his stunning offer came after he bribed a worker to open the zoo back in the late 80s so he and then wife Robin Givens could enjoy a private and romantic stroll among the animals.

But he suddenly got an idea as they approached the ape enclosure and spotted a dominant alpha male bullying the rest of the submissive group.

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Mike Tyson ain’t afraid of nobody.

He attempted to offer the cash to the zookeeper to open the cage so he could go in there and punch the gorilla.

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

“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 $14,000 to open the cage and let me smash that silverback’s snotbox! He declined.”

Despite this epic tale, the American has always been an animal lover.

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Tyson famously likes his pigeons and is well-known for keeping a number of exotic tigers as pets – which he recently revealed he regretted.

Away from the ring “Iron Mike” continues to revel in the marijuana industry and was even photographed smoking a foot-long joint in February.

The former heavyweight world champ is the proud owner of a huge 40-acre ranch in California after breaking into the business two years ago.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.