On Oct. 23, 2021, 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Eddie Hall took to his YouTube channel to relay an update regarding his health and a wager to his soon-to-be in-ring opponent, Hafthor “The Mountain” Björnsson. In the two-minute, 57-second long video, Hall states that his biceps was successfully reattached following surgery — he ruptured his biceps during a sparring session — and that just over three months following that surgery, he is back to training at full capacity. He issued a “nudge” to Björnsson and the promoters of their bout to get a date and venue confirmed.
Additionally, Hall issued a financial wager to Björnsson unrelated to their undisclosed prize purse for the fight — although they did not state specifics, both Björnsson and Hall confirmed their fight contracts ranged in the seven-figure territory. Hall wagered that the loser of the bout between him in “The Mountain” would donate $100,000 to the winner’s choice of charity. Check out Hall issue said wager and re-up the mind games towards Bjornsson in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoApcZNHXNA&ab_channel=Eddie%27TheBeast%27Hall
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Hall’s $100,000 wager may seem suspect given his recent biceps injury. While Hall underwent surgery, rehab, and limited training, Björnsson was getting additional in-ring experience against Hall’s replacement in their bout, Devon Larratt. Although Björnsson was dominant against Larratt, Hall released a reaction video where he considered the fight “sloppy.”
Since the announcement of “The Heaviest Boxing Match in History” in May 2020, Hall has not shown any respect for Björnsson’s fight game. He has criticized Björnsson exhibition bouts against Simon Vallily and Steven Ward and appeared unimpressed by the stoppage against Larratt. In his recent video, Hall moves to a close-up with the camera to reiterate his opinion of Björnsson’s boxing abilities:
I am not impressed in the slightest. In the two years since we signed the contract, I’ve not seen a single punch from you that’s made me think, “oooo, that would hurt.
Hall went on to assess Björnsson not from his training progress which saw him cut a massive amount of weight, but rather from his appearance. Björnsson recently appeared on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE Podcast and called Hall a “fat guy.” Hall retaliated by stating that he thinks Björnsson looks like “a withered, stressed, scared old man” who “hasn’t slept in a year.”
Hall’s $100,000 charity wager stemmed from the “confidence” that he sees in Björnsson. It’s a quintessential moment of putting money where the mouth is, so to speak.
If you’re that confident, you’d pull the trigger on [the wager].
Hall did not state which charity he would choose should he emerge victorious against Björnsson.
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On Nov. 3, 2021, Hall went back to his YouTube channel to follow up about his wager as Björnsson had yet to respond to it. Hall urged Björnsson again to accept the wager:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xbVaKjwIbs&ab_channel=Eddie%27TheBeast%27Hall
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Ahead to 2022
The bout between Hall and Björnsson has been floated to occur sometime in March 2022, though no specific date or venue has yet been confirmed. Should Björnsson accept Hall’s wager, the stakes of the match will be weighted by not just the pride of their rivalry but also a six-figure prize purse for charity as well.
Featured image via Eddie Hall’s YouTube channel.
