The biggest fight in strength sports, literally and figuratively, finally has a date set. On Feb. 9, 2022, Core Sports announced that the highly anticipated boxing match between 2017 World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall and 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Björnsson is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
Information on tickets and streaming is not yet available. You can see Core Sports’ announcement below:
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The boxing match between the only two men to deadlift 500 kilograms in history was initially announced in May 2020 after Björnsson deadlifted 501 kilograms (1,102 pounds) during the premiere of World Ultimate Strongman’s “Feats of Strength” series. The fight was set to take place in September of 2021. However, Hall suffered a biceps injury while sparring, and the fight was postponed.
The lead-up to the bout has been fraught with plenty of taunting. Initially, it was Björnsson who challenged Hall to a fight. Hall accepted, and it was reported that both men were set to make seven figures. Closer to the original fight date, Hall issued a challenge to Thor: that the loser of the bout would donate $100,000 to the winner’s charity of choice. In a display of online peacocking, Björnsson upped the ante by saying both men should donate $200,000 to charity regardless of who wins. Hall quickly clapped back, saying he’d donate the $200,000 but that the loser should donate $200,000 plus $1,000,000. “The Mountain” declined Hall’s million-dollar response, and the two settled on a tattoo bet, with the loser getting a tattoo of the winner’s name o their body.
Despite the delays, Björnsson continued to train and took part in multiple exhibition bouts in preparation for his confrontation with Hall. On Sept. 18, 2021, his most recent fight occurred when arm wrestling legend Devon Larratt stepped in Hall’s place to take on the three-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion. Björnsson won that fight by technical knockout in the first round. Before that fight, Björnsson took part in exhibition fights with both Steven Ward and Simon Vallily.
As for Hall, he routinely shares clips of his training occasionally on social media and YouTube but has yet to step in the ring for an exhibition or competitive fight of any kind. As of December 2021, Hall checked in with an image on Instagram, disclosing that the 6’3” retired strongman weighs 163 kilograms (359 pounds) at that time.
Björnsson’s transformation has been evident as well. When he pulled the 501 kilograms in Iceland, he reported that he weighed 205 kilograms (452 pounds) at a height of 6’9”. On Feb. 4, 2022, he shared a before and after image showcasing a much leaner physique, and he reportedly weighs 145 kilograms (319.7 pounds).
BarBend will provide updates on tickets and viewing information as it becomes available.
Featured Image Courtesy of Core Sports