Right before diving into a strength and conditioning session at his gym in Stoke-on-Trent, England, 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Eddie Hall stepped on camera to share an update about his biceps injury. On July 19, 2021, Hall accidentally detached his left biceps during a sparring session in preparation for his boxing match against 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Björnsson. Following successful surgery, he is almost back to the shape he was in before the injury.
During his training session, Hall shared his thoughts on the replacement against Björnsson: Canadian Arm Wrestler Devon Larratt. The main takeaway: Hall thinks Larratt has the potential to post a decent fight despite only having about a month and a half to prepare. Check out the full video of Hall’s training and opinions on the upcoming bout courtesy of his YouTube channel:
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Hall is back in the gym as his recovery from surgery has been fairly smooth. He took a full week off from training following the operation. Despite having “full movement” back in his arm, he is not yet putting his biceps under too much stress — he does not yet have full rotation of his forearm. The issue is residual inflammation in the area where his tendon was rebonded to the bone. In the video, Hall displays how much farther he can supinate his right hand versus his left.
When I wash my face, one hand puts water, one hand just stabs me in the eye.
Hall is currently focused on increasing his anaerobic capacity using exercises that don’t load his healing biceps. These movements include lat cable pulldowns, incline bench press, seated rows, triceps pushdowns, Iron Neck, and dumbbell overhead press. Hall does, however, perform few light sets of dumbbell curls to close out his session.
Hafthor Björnsson vs. Devon Larratt
The news of Larratt replacing Hall surprised the first man ever to deadlift 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds). Larratt was a choice Hall “never saw coming” and thinks it to be rather “random.” Although he does not know Larratt personally, Hall is aware of Larratt’s more than a decade and a half of military service, including seven deployments to Afghanistan.
He’s no stranger to danger. He’ll be up for a scrap.
Hall presumes that Larratt has had more fights in his life than Björnsson has and that he is well equipped to fight under pressure. He also notes Larratt’s experience in one-versus-one competition in close quarters amidst large crowds due to his experience as a professional arm-wrestling champion. When thinking through the massive disadvantage of prep time Larratt has to overcome to succeed in the ring, Hall thinks it is a hill too steep. That is not to say, however, that he believes a Björsson victory is a foregone conclusion:
I think Devon could batter him. He’ll have the aggression, he’s gone to the same gym as [mixed martial artist] George St. Pierre. Devon can take a hit and give a hit. Can he beat Thor? Big massive question mark that is.
Before hearing that Larratt is his replacement, Hall thought five-time WSM champion Mariusz Pudzianowski, who left strongman to pursue mixed martial arts (MMA), would take his spot. Had this been the case, Hall thinks Pudzianowski would knock Björnsson out, but it would have “put a damper” on his eventual fight against “The Mountain,” expected in March 2022. Hall also thinks the winner of his fight against Björnsson should fight Pudzianowski next.
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The Björnsson vs. Larratt fight is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2021, in Dubai, UAE. It will be six three-minute rounds with both fighters wearing 12-ounce gloves. The bout will be available to watch on CoreSports.world.
Feature image: @eddiehallwsm on Instagram
