Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, or “The Mountain” as he’s known as in the HBO series Game of Thrones, is entering the world of boxing in what is being dubbed as ‘the heaviest boxing match in history.
While Lil Pump’s been dodging taxes and the general population has been shopping for Christmas presents, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson has been in training. The fight, which is against former rival Eddie Hall, who won the World’s Strongest Man in 2017, has been on the cards for a while now and was due to take place in September, only for it to be postponed for a later date due to Hall suffering a detached bicep in training for the clash. After a recent victory in his first-ever professional bout against arm-wrestling phenomenon Devon Larratt, it appears as if The Mountain is preparing to do the same against his British rival Hall.
Despite the heavyweight clash not having a new date yet, both fighters are training hard in what is a highly anticipated battle between two of the world’s strongest men. The appeal of the fight is growing too, with British fans backing home favorite Hall, while fans of The Mountain back the Game of Thrones star, a series which even has a slot game based on the fantasy epic. Björnsson’s supporters back home in Iceland will undoubtedly be tuning in too, as they hope their world-famous beast can see off his former rival in a clash that is expected to take place in 2022. Going into the fight, what are Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson’s chances like? As he did against Devon Larratt, will he prove too strong for Eddie Hall? Let’s assess the match-up below.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson has been getting ring experience in
While Eddie Hall has been forced to rest and recuperate following his horrific bicep injury, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson hasn’t put his fight ambitions on hold by taking part in a few fights. Winning them all fairly convincingly, the Game of Thrones beast hasn’t impressed Hall in the slightest. Commenting on footage that has surfaced from some of The Mountain’s warm-up fights, he said: “The last two fights Thor has had, in my opinion, the fighters were told to hold off and not go hard on him. You can see it. They are tickling him up, and whenever the shots get lined up, they back away. Those fights for me are pointless.”
Hall ended his rant on the Icelandic monster by saying: “My message to Thor is ‘keep doing what you’re doing because it is absolute dogs***’. I can promise you, I absolutely believe 100 percent I’m going to win our fight when we meet.”
Does Hall pose a genuine threat to Björnsson?
Despite being the smaller man, Eddie Hall is blessed with immense strength and real determination, which could see him come out on top when the two eventually meet in the ring. Hall is being trained by a professional boxing trainer in his hometown of Stoke, even seriously damaging one of his sparring partners in the process and being accused of bullying his latest training buddy too. The former World’s Strongest Man has been sparring with WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie also.
To demonstrate his dedication to the fight even further, Eddie Hall has lost around 40kg thanks to a radical change in his diet and all-around exercise routine, with a strong focus on losing a bit of muscle and enabling him to be lighter on his feet in the process. Hall is certainly giving it his all as he attempts to humiliate his bitter rival.
