When Hafthor ‘The Mountain’ Bjornsson and former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall announced their plans to square off in the boxing ring, the fighting world raised a collective eyebrow.
While the sight of the two mountainous humans in the ring would certainly be one to behold, early footage of the two in their respective training sessions didn’t inspire much hope for a good spectacle.
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Both fighters’ massive frames were clearly much better suited to the heavy lifting they made their name doing – and while there’s no doubt they’d feel any punches thrown by the other, speed wasn’t exactly either man’s forte.
Fast forward a few months though, and former Game of Thrones star Bjornsson’s noticeably slimmer and more shredded figure has reignited speculation about who would win.
After weighing more than 200 kilograms at the time of his world record 501kg deadlift in May 2020, Bjornsson has noticeably trimmed down in a series of images posted to Instagram.
The 32-year-old Bjornsson is set to take on long-time rival Hall at a Las Vegas event in September this year.
According to The Sun, Hall has been able to match Bjornsson’s transformation, with the weightlifting icon’s boxing trainer, a man only named Lyndon.
Despite the likes of UFC icon Joe Rogan openly being sceptical of the pair’s fighting prowess, the almost-anonymous trainer nonetheless talked up Hall’s progress.
“I’m seeing massive differences every time Eddie comes to training,” Lyndon said.
“I give him something to work on, he comes back and he’s nailed it.
“We’ve got him from being like a man who is like a steel bar and quite rigid because of his size – the size is still there – but now he’s got a lot of whip in his punches.
“He’s really punching crisp and hard.
“I said to Ed that by the time he boxes Thor, I want him in the position where he’s able to box any British heavyweight.
“He’s doing ringcraft, technique and by the time he’s ready to box this time next year I feel Ed will be able to box any British heavyweight.”
Aussie boxer slammed over ‘degrading’ antics
British boxer Shannon Courtenay has accused Aussie opponent Ebanie Bridges of “degrading” the sport ahead of their world title fight.
An ugly war of words has erupted ahead of the world title showdown in London on Sunday, with Bridges calling Courtenay a “hypocrite”.
Bridges and Courtenay will do battle for the WBA world female bantamweight title on the undercard of Conor Benn’s fight against Samuel Vargas.
The Aussie Bridges, who was formerly a ring girl before becoming a fighter, is 5-0 in her professional career.
But it’s her antics outside the ring that don’t sit well with Courtenay.
Bridges has amassed an impressive social media following and regularly posts racy photos for her fans.
She has also been known to wear lingerie during weigh-ins.
“I’m a fighter, not a lingerie model,” Courtenay said on Wednesday.
“This is a world title fight. Have some respect for the game.
“You’ve got people like Katie Taylor who has worked her arse off for years to allow women like me to be in this position – through hard work and dedication she’s managed to get women’s boxing where it is – and you want to disrespect it and degrade the sport by talking about your weigh-in outfit and lingerie?
“Have some respect and some decorum for boxing.”
But Bridges, who also works as a school teacher, says she’s simply trying to promote the fight.
“Let’s be real. If I wore what everyone else wore, people wouldn’t be interested. I’d just be another fight. Whatever,” she told Sky Sports.
“I’m trying to bring more eyes to the sport.”
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