Carnage broke out at the press conference for Eddie Hall and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson's upcoming boxing match after Hall made a comment about his opponent's mum. Watch here:
The press conference started off relatively civilised, with Björnsson sharing his intention to keep things 'professional'.
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However, things began to escalate as conversation moved to their recent scuffle, with Hall labelling his opponent a 'scared little child'.
Members of Björnsson's camp then became animated and urged Hall to calm down, but things were about to explode as Hall told his rival to control his mum.
Björnsson launched a bottle across the room and bellowed: "Don't talk about my f***ing mum, never!"
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Former friends Hall and Björnsson (otherwise known as 'The Beast' and 'Thor' respectively) will at last settle their long-standing beef in the ring on Saturday (19 March) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis.
Both of the behemoths are former World's Strongest Man winners, but they've both traded the barbells for boxing gloves for a fight that has been billed as 'the heaviest boxing match in history'.
Speaking to LADbible ahead of the fight, 34-year-old Hall described his motivation as '100 percent hatred' and said that he is driven by a desire to 'get in the ring and break this f***er's face'.
That hatred stems from claims made by Björnsson in the aftermath of Hall’s 2017 World’s Strongest Man win.
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The pair were locked at the top of the standings before a controversial ruling in the 'Viking Press' event saw Thor docked a rep, which ultimately led to him losing the overall competition.
Subsequent unpleasant exchanges between the two behemoths have shown that whatever friendship and camaraderie they might once have shared has completely vanished, replaced with a mutual revulsion and a desire to see the other hurt.
Hall is naturally very confident he'll win the fight, and is adamant that it ain't about the cash for him.
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"The money is not the incentive for me," he explained.
"I'm already rich, I don't give a f*** about the money. This is about me and Thor now – this is personal."
Meanwhile, Thor believes that Hall's anger will get the better of him, allowing the Icelander's boxing skills to see him through.
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He told LADbible: "I don't like the guy but I’m here to box and show the people my boxing skills, staying calm and staying relaxed.
"He is going to come in angry like a bull and is probably gonna gas out in the first round or second round because he's so angry and p***ed off. The man cannot control his emotions. He’s too focused on the past.
"He's too angry, he's like a 16-year-old boy, if you cannot control your emotions you cannot fight.
"There's no way that man can fight six rounds against me.
"My plan is to box, my plan is to show my skills and technique and show the people my ability in the boxing ring.
"If he is not ready, I'm going to knock him out soon.
"He's going to come in silly, throwing wild hooks – I have a longer reach.
"I'm going to catch him and he's gonna fall down, then we're going to hear some excuses."
Not long now until we get to see their fists do the talking folks.
Eddie Hall vs Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson will take place on March 19 in Dubai and will be livestreamed for free exclusively on SEGI.TV.
Topics: Sport, Eddie Hall, Boxing
Jake Massey