Florida man who caught alligator in garbage bin: 'Steve Irwin came out in me'

On Cuomo Prime Time Thursday, Eugene Bozzi, the Florida man who went viral when a video of him catching an alligator in a garbage bin showed up on social media earlier in the week, invoked the legendary Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, when speaking about the incident.

Bozzi, a North PHiladelphia native and Army veteran, said “Steve Irwin came out a little bit” in him while this was occurring. He also credited his time in the military for his staying calm and collected throughout the incident.

“To be under pressure, to not panic, and approach the situation and to finish the task and eliminate the threat so you can make the environment around you safe,” Bozzi said. “That’s kind of what I did in Afghanistan with my other veterans, and I’m proud that I served this country.”

But, according to Cuomo, Bozzi has a lot more to deal with than alligators. That being the fact that Bozzi has seven daughters.

A stunned Cuomo, who has two daughters, said, “An alligator is the least of your problems with seven daughters.”

Video Transcript

EUGENE BOZZI: My daughter actually came and got me and said, Dad, you really want to talk the talk now? I said, what are you talking about? She showed me. I didn't see it at first. And then when I got close, and I've seen it, I was like, oh, let me get the trash can.

KYLIE MAR: On "Cuomo Prime Time" Thursday, Eugene Bozzi, the Florida man who caught an alligator in a garbage bin earlier in the week and went viral when the video showed up on social media, invoked the legendary crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. When speaking about what was going through his mind at the time--

EUGENE BOZZI: I slowed myself down a little bit, used my Wolverine techniques, and the Steve Irwin came out a little bit in me, because Steve Irwin before YouTube. And when you watch Steve Irwin videos back then, you absorbed them in because it wasn't no rewinding. I gulped him up. I treated it like a Hungry Hippo mouth.

CHRIS CUOMO: That's exactly what it was.

KYLIE MAR: Bozzi, who let the alligator go in a nearby pond, credited his military experience for his staying cool and calm in that situation.

EUGENE BOZZI: To be under pressure, to not panic and approach the situation and just finish the task and eliminate the threat so you can make that environment around you safe. That's kind of what I did in Afghanistan with my other veterans, and I'm proud that I served this country.

KYLIE MAR: But Cuomo believes Bozzi has a lot more to worry about than alligators.

EUGENE BOZZI: I got seven daughters. They embrace me. They love me to death.

CHRIS CUOMO: Seven--

EUGENE BOZZI: I'd do anything for them.

CHRIS CUOMO: --daughters? An alligator--

EUGENE BOZZI: Yes. There's actually--

CHRIS CUOMO: --is the least of your problems with seven daughters.