Eddie Hall vs. Hafþór Björnsson

Eddie Hall vs. Hafþór Björnsson, known as "The Heaviest Boxing Match in History" at its time, was a boxing match between strongmen Eddie Hall and Hafþór Björnsson who both have won the World's Strongest Man, that took place on 19 March 2022.

Hall started the first round with continuous haymakers but Björnsson kept his composure and stuck to the basics, focusing on a solid jab and better footwork. Once Björnsson realized Hall's game plan, he took control of the fight by bludgeoning and knocking down Hall twice to the floor in rounds three and six. Hall sustained bleeding lacerations on top of both eyes and Björnsson won the fight via unanimous decision, having won all but the second round.

Background

Both Hall and Björnsson went into the fight with numerous accolades in strength athletics. Hall holds the title of 2017 World's Strongest Man and won UK's Strongest Man and Britain's Strongest Man multiple times. Björnsson holds the title of 2018 World's Strongest Man and has placed in the top three positions of the competition every year since 2012. He is also the 2018 World's Ultimate Strongman, 3 times in a row Arnold Strongman Classic champion, 5 times Europe's Strongest Man, 8 times Strongman Champions League champion, 9 times Giants Live champion, and 15 times Iceland's Strongest Man and Strongest Man in Iceland champion.

In 2016, Hall set a world record in deadlifting with 500 kg (~1102 lbs) at the 2016 Europe's Strongest Man competition. However, Björnsson deadlifted 501 kg (~1105 lbs) at the 2020 World's Ultimate Strongman - Feats of Strength series and broke the world record to the dismay of Hall. Immediately after breaking the world record Björnsson challenged Hall, to a boxing match and the fight was officially announced in November 2020.

Despite Hall having prior experience in boxing and fighting in general, Björnsson didn't. Both underwent significant bodyweight and bodyfat reductions, where Hall dropped from 163 kg (359 lb) to 142 kg (313 lb) and Björnsson dropped from 208 kg (459 lb) to 144 kg (317 lb). Hall incorporated a lot of explosive punches, punching boxing machines and many athletes including gymnast Nile Wilson, pop star Peter Andre and his training partners as hard as he can. Björnsson learned the fundamentals of boxing and did two exhibition fights against ex-WBO European light-heavyweight champion Steven Ward in January 2021, 2010 Commonwealth Games Heavyweight Gold Medalist Simon Vallily in May 2021, and a third real fight versus Canadian professional arm-wrestler Devon Larratt in September 2021 and defeated him in the first round itself via technical knockout.

Aftermath

On 20 April 2022, Hall got a tattoo on his foot stating "World’s Strongest Man - Hafthor Julius Bjornsson" to commemorate the fight and his loss.

References