‘Mike Tyson Once Tried To Fight A Silverback Gorilla’
Gorilla vs Mike Tyson? We almost had it. For someone who is known as the Baddest Man on the Planet, it shouldn’t shock many to learn that Tyson wanted to live up to his iconic reputation. When he wasn’t striking fear into the heart of the heavyweight division in the 1980s, Tyson decided to visit the zoo with then-partner Robin Givens.
Tyson and Givens’ visit to the zoo turned out to be one hell of an eventful day after Iron Mike spotted one gorilla picking on the other primates in the enclosure. And the 55-year-old American superstar was prepared to pay the zookeeper a hefty $10,000 to open the cage and allow him to punch the gorilla. Tyson later admitted that the zookeeper “declined” his offer (wonder why, eh?), but whether you’re a man or an animal, there’s a lesson to be learnt: don’t bully anyone in front of Tyson. Well, don’t bully anyone in general. Period.
Fact credit: Twitter user @TCOMC_ED
9. ‘Larry Holmes Was Once Only One Win Away From Having A 49-0 Record Like Rocky Marciano’
Larry Holmes (69-6-0), who is one of Floyd Mayweather’s top five boxers of all time, fell short of a huge milestone. The Easton Assassin had stopped both Muhammad Ali and the hard-hitting Earnie Shavers (74-14-1) and picked up points wins over Ken Norton (42-7-1) and Trevor Berbick (49-11-1) en route to becoming 48-0. However, Holmes failed to move alongside Rocky Marciano with an unblemished 49-0 record, as boxing legend Michael Spinks (31-1-0) beat him by unanimous decision after 15 rounds in their 1985 title fight. Close, but no cigar, Mr Holmes.
