Eddie Hall vs. Hafthor Bjornsson

[Kim Jong Un]

He is a big crybaby. When Hall beat him in the WSM 2017, he cried about how he thought Eddie was a cheat and didn't deserve to win, etc.
Now he finally lifts 1kg more than Eddie, while in his gym instead of at an official event, and calls him out. What a pompous ass, I hope Eddie knocks him out.

He didnt say Hall cheated, he said it was unfair that the contest had all of Eddie's best events and there was a conflict of interest because the executive producer was good friends with Eddie. It does still seem petty but these guys are hyper-competitive. Brian Shaw is one of the nicest guys in the world and he made the same compaint when Zydrunas beat him at one of the ASC contest.
The 501 was actually in Rejkjavik and endorsed as official by the event that it was supposed to be at before it got corona'd.

 

[juanlien]

I think Thor just always seemed like a dick

 

[Kim Jong Un]

Hall has a lot more boxing experience, he has trained with the Furys and obviously UK has much more boxing resources than Iceland. If I was Hafthor I would try to make it a Muay Thai fight when he could dominate with knees. To beat Eddie in boxing I think he would have to move to America to train for a long time.

 

[NortheastPhilly]

We've had the era of the super heavies.

Now welcome to the era of the mega super heavies. No one is safe.

 

[glhfddka]

Eddie signed on the dotted line. Fight is on!

I think what @weirdflex said earlier is right. Thor has the advantage in terms of size, weight, reach, age, probably strength. But if you include the chip on Eddie's shoulder he's carried his entire career, I think the tale of the tape levels out.

 

[weirdflex]

Very big men were never the best at boxing. There is a big drop off in athleticism and coordination once you get past a certain height. And then putting on all the mass that Eddie and Thor have ain't gonna help.
Tyson fury is probably the best big boxer ever, but he still looks clumsy, slow and awkward if you compare him to smaller fighters.
Even if both Eddie and Thor take this challenge extremely seriously and devote all their time and resources to getting as good at boxing as they possibly can. I can guarantee they will still look hopeless in the ring.
And if they both had legit boxing skills , they would both still get ragdolled by a normal or even below normal sized heavyweight boxer. Someone notably average, like Bellew, Chisora, Eddie Chambers, or even that hopeless Witherspoon would make light work of Thor at his current size.
The last big boxer I recall is Nicolai valuev. He didn't do very well.

 

[Tyrannosaurus rex]

Hall has a lot more boxing experience, he has trained with the Furys and obviously UK has much more boxing resources than Iceland. If I was Hafthor I would try to make it a Muay Thai fight when he could dominate with knees. To beat Eddie in boxing I think he would have to move to America to train for a long time.

Thor actually said he might move to America for a large part of his training camp. He's currently training with a friend who has boxed for 15 years, and after a while he's gonna get a high level professional coach and move to wherever he needs to go to train.

 

[weirdflex]

Hall has a lot more boxing experience, he has trained with the Furys and obviously UK has much more boxing resources than Iceland. .

FWIW I can say from experience that proper technical boxing coaching is very difficult to come by in the UK. It's not that it doesn't exist but the few people with experience and knowledge keep it to themselves.
In pro boxing every coach knows their worth and "percentage". The Fury's would not have given Eddie any legit coaching. Even more so because they are travellers. They doubly keep their knowledge to themselves.

 

[cunglaowins]

If Eddie does lots of legit sparring and learns how to slip, weave and duck to a reasonable standard he would probably win.
If rules are lax with holding and clinching Thor could figuratively and literally crush Eddie.

I have followed strongman for a long time so am very familiar with Eddie. He is pathologically insecure which leads to superhuman levels of competitivity. Eddie had no business getting his 500kg deadlift and even the WSM win was beyond what most would have thought possible. Sure he is somewhat gifted in athleticism but the recent decade of strongman has been about the giants like Brian Shaw and Thor. Eddie falls just under. He is a big man but not a circus freak big man. Nor is he a freak of deadlifting ability like Cailier Woolam, Belkin or Stefi Cohen. Eddie would not be a WR deadlifter as a slim man.
He achieved what he has through total and utter obsession and stubbornness. By his own accounts it pushed him over the edge in what could ever be maintained health-wise or social wise. Which is why he quit after getting just one win and the one WR he wanted.

Why is all of that relevant?

Because Eddie may well put that level of focus into the boxing. Especially as he is probably crying inside that Thor beat his record. If he does, and has a real boxing coach (not a yes man pad holder) he could dominate.

The caveat to that is that I think it is unlikely that Eddie will find a good coach and it will be even harder to find appropriate sparring partners.

I know his type. Even with his “friend” like Shaw , he constantly shits on him and hides it behind a smiling face, talks shit about him when he’s not around. Shaw’s like a teddy bear so he just takes it.

 

[weirdflex]

I know his type. Even with his “friend” like Shaw , he constantly shits on him and hides it behind a smiling face, talks shit about him when he’s not around. Shaw’s like a teddy bear so he just takes it.

I bet Shaw just interprets it as normal British banter. The difference is kinda subtle, British people, especially laddy types make a point of digging into each other all day every day.
But I see what you see, there is something else going on with Eddie.
I went through a lot of similar stuff to Eddie as a kid so can relate.

 

[mozfonky]

Unm

If Eddie does lots of legit sparring and learns how to slip, weave and duck to a reasonable standard he would probably win.
If rules are lax with holding and clinching Thor could figuratively and literally crush Eddie.

I have followed strongman for a long time so am very familiar with Eddie. He is pathologically insecure which leads to superhuman levels of competitivity. Eddie had no business getting his 500kg deadlift and even the WSM win was beyond what most would have thought possible. Sure he is somewhat gifted in athleticism but the recent decade of strongman has been about the giants like Brian Shaw and Thor. Eddie falls just under. He is a big man but not a circus freak big man. Nor is he a freak of deadlifting ability like Cailier Woolam, Belkin or Stefi Cohen. Eddie would not be a WR deadlifter as a slim man.
He achieved what he has through total and utter obsession and stubbornness. By his own accounts it pushed him over the edge in what could ever be maintained health-wise or social wise. Which is why he quit after getting just one win and the one WR he wanted.

Why is all of that relevant?
Because Eddie may well put that level of focus into the boxing. Especially as he is probably crying inside that Thor beat his record. If he does, and has a real boxing coach (not a yes man pad holder) he could dominate.

The caveat to that is that I think it is unlikely that Eddie will find a good coach and it will be even harder to find appropriate sparring partners.

wow, you sure know alot about eddie, which one is eddie?

 

[mozfonky]

There was a moment there when Hafthor caught Conor's kick. There's an event where strongmen have to toss a big ass kettlebell 20ft into the air, and I was half expecting him to toss Conor into the rafters or into orbit

it seems he's so musclebound he can't close his holds any though.

 

[weirdflex]

Unm


wow, you sure know alot about eddie, which one is eddie?

Eddie is the shorter of the two, with the Mr T style mohawk.
It's not hard to get to understand people when they like to talk about themselves as much as Eddie does.

 

[mozfonky]

Eddie is the shorter of the two, with the Mr T style mohawk.
It's not hard to get to understand people when they like to talk about themselves as much as Eddie does.

go eddie

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Hafthor's wife is pretty and petite. His Wiki page says she's Canadian and that she's currently carrying his child. The contrast between the two is crazy when you look at how small she is compared to him. She looks... young. Good for him though.

 

[defjaam]

Hafthor's wife is pretty and petite. His Wiki page says she's Canadian and that she's currently carrying his child. The contrast between the two is crazy when you look at how small she is compared to him. She looks... young. Good for him though.

This requires some creativity during bedroom activity.
But that's the thing - the taste of a giant like that isn't different than the taste of a normal sized man... I wasn't expecting him to date a 6'2 / 210 pound chick.

 

[TheGreatA]

We've had the era of the super heavies.

Now welcome to the era of the mega super heavies. No one is safe.

I think we need a juggernaut mega heavyweight division to be created for this fight. The winner could call themselves the world champion of that weight class. 400+ lb only.

 

[MMACroatia]

Hall gonna feel the wrath and hammer of Thor

 

[NortheastPhilly]

Surely their gonna be gassed by end of the first tho.

Will no doubt still watch.

 

[NortheastPhilly]

I dont know if I want to see two men die in the ring from cardiac arrest after 1 round

they are each going to throw one or two shots and then gas immediately.