Iranian Hulk rejected the chance to withdraw from his fight with Martyn Ford four weeks before it was officially cancelled.
The Iranian star - real name Sajad Gharibi - was set to travel to the UK to make his boxing debut against Ford at The O2 arena on April 30. However Ford confirmed that the fight had now been scrapped with a video statement on social media, where he appeared to blame his rival for the fight's collapse.
After the fight was initially rescheduled from the original April 2 date, Ford released a statement on Instagram confirming the rejection: "He has been given the option to back out, but he does not want to back out. He is 100 per cent adamant that he wants this fight. So trust me, there'll be no soft fight, he knows exactly what he's getting into now, and April 30 - it's going to be a night to remember. See you there."
Gharibi had already responded with defiance when asked if he was serious about taking the clash during the pair's first meeting in Dubai. The pair came to blows before Ford expressed his uncertainty that his long-term rival would be able to get into the ring.
The Iranian denied claims he was unprepared to fight and claimed he had made a significant weight loss during his preparations. However an interview on Iranian TV later emerged which sparked further concerns where he was brought to tears after receiving hateful comments online on social media.
He even claimed his parents had disowned him in the aftermath of the heated altercation, leaving him needing to take sleeping pills. Fans had already expressed their concern prior to this point after he posted a worrying message on social media which "wished for death".
Who do you think Martyn Ford should challenge now? Let us know in the comments section below
His post also suggested that he had no coach in his corner for the showdown. Now Ford faces the possibility of missing out entirely on making a boxing debut after being left without an opponent just three weeks out from the event.
However during his statement he remained resilient and told fans he plans to find a new opponent and date for his iron square appearance. "This is a statement I didn't want to have to release but my fight is going to be postponed," he told fans on Instagram. The event is still going to take place and there is some great people and some great fights on.
"But unfortunately my fight will not be one of them due to reasons out of my control. It doesn't take a genius to figure them all out, I don't want to talk about it, too much time and energy has been wasted. "I am still here and I am still training hard, but there will be a debut and there will be a fight. I am just not 100 per cent sure who or when and why?"
