Hafthor Bjornsson floors Eddie Hall twice to win Heaviest Boxing Match in History by unanimous

August 09, 2024

Hafthor Bjornsson won boxing’s heaviest ever fight, beating strongman rival Eddie Hall by unanimous decision on Saturday night.

The former world’s strongest man winners - who weighed a combined 47 stone for the bout - finally got to settle their rivalry in Dubai in a six-round exhibition that ebbed and flowed.

Britain's Hall came out flying as he connected with Thor with a flurry of early efforts, capitalising on a crowd that was clearly backing him.

Hall then knocked down his larger opponent, sending him into the ropes in round two, before Thor - aka The Mountain from Game of Thrones - hit the deck again as he struggled for balance throughout.

The closest the fight came to a knockout was in round three, though, when Hall was left looking up from the canvas following a brutal one-two combo.

Sensing the clash may have been slipping away from him, Hall came out swinging in the sixth and final round, but was again sent to the floor.

Thor was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 57-54.

The victor said: "I'd like to thank Eddie Hall and his team for putting up a hell of a show, he gave me a hell of a battle.

"I've never been dropped in training, so hats off to him. He really can punch. He wasn't lying! But today, I feel technique won."

Thor added there could now be a rematch with Hall upset at losing the grudge fight.

He said "Understandably he seemed a bit angry still. He lost the fight so it's understandable as well.

"But I'm happy, if he wants the rematch I'll take a rematch no problem. Would you guys like to see a rematch?"

Most read in Boxing

Hall, though, appeared gracious in defeat when he said the better man won on the night.

“At the end of the day I’ve just fought literally the biggest man in the world in a boxing match, I’d like to see anybody else have the balls to do that," he said afterwards.

The pair of famous strongmen built up a solid rivalry over the past five years which ultimately ended in the ring.

The two first contended against each other in 2017 when Hall was crowned world’s strongest man ahead of his Icelandic rival but things soon got nasty.

Thor accused Hall of cheating during one lift, claiming he had been robbed on the podium.

Hall later released a video which he believed showed Thor’s accusations were unfounded, and took aim at his defeated opponent.

“Hafthor Bjornsson and his entourage have been smearing my title and the referee Colin Bryce’s reputation for the last three years,” Hall said.

“Because he was the Mountain from Game of Thrones, a huge TV star, people listened and people believed him.

“I’ve had enough of the doubters saying he was robbed and how hard done by he was.

“So today, I came across a video that ends all the smack talk and silences the doubters.

“This video stopped me in my tracks for how desperate a man can be when things don’t go his way.

“It’s time for the truth to be told, for the picture to do the talking.

“Hafthor Bjornsson, you and your yes men should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Thor went on to make up for his loss by winning the competition the following year, but things were far from settled with their rivalry continuing outside of the competition.

Thor beat Hall’s 500kg deadlift record in 2020 by 1kg, but Hall contested that it wasn’t a real record as the lift was conducted in a home gym.

Hafthor Bjornsson floors Eddie Hall twice to win Heaviest Boxing Match in History by unanimous

Most read in Boxing

Read More on talkSPORT

Betting Offer Of The Day