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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Harry Davies

Iranian Hulk weighs in ahead of delayed Martyn Ford grudge fight

Iranian Hulk - whose real name is Sajjad Gharibi - has stepped on the scale at over 138kg as he prepares for his rescheduled fight with Martyn Ford.

Ford was set to meet his rival Gharibi at The O2 arena on April 2, but their fight has been delayed by a month after several fighters on the card were injured in training.

The Iranian strongman has posted a video of himself to Instagram lifting weights to prepare for the boxing match, whilst stepping on the scale.

Gharibi cuts the video at 138kg to leave some doubt over what his actual weight is.

His rival Ford - who is commonly labelled the 'World's Scariest Man' - recently posted a video of himself weighing 140kg as he cut down to fight weight.

"From my end, there is no smoke, no mirrors, no pretending," Ford told Gharibi in the caption for his weigh-in video.

Iranian Hulk is still lifting weights to prepare for the fight (sajadgharibiofficial/Instagram)
He recently stepped on the scale at 138kg (sajadgharibiofficial/Instagram)

"Here it is, my current weight - sitting pretty at 140kg, feeling very fit, powerful, healthy and explosive. I can promise you fireworks come fight night that's for sure."

The Brit's huge height advantage over Gharibi was evident when the strongmen duo squared off for the first time last month, with a scuffle breaking out during the face-off.

Ford pushed Gharibi who stumbled and later tried to take down his rival in a move which was easily thwarted.

In a video which was translated for Mirror Fighting, Gharibi apologised for being pushed over by his rival as he told his fans their face-off wouldn't get physical.

"I came here with my own money and capital without any financial support and without a coach," he said. As you can see in the video, he publicly shocked me and I lost my balance.

Who wins on April 30 - Iranian Hulk or Martyn Ford? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below!

"I apologise to all the people of Iran for this, but know that this is not the end of the story, and I will say the main thing in the competition, I promise.

"The Iranian team was told before the conference that they only face each other, and that you have no right to hit your opponent."

Fans criticised Gharibi's approach to the fight as he claimed to have "no coach" but Ford came to the defence of his rival and told fans to not send him hateful comments.

"I will say one thing, after meeting the Hulk, and seeing some of his videos in the last 48 hours, yes we are due to have a boxing match, but I do not want to see any hate towards him.

"But please show some compassion for his feelings, no matter what you feel, we are all human, we are better than this."

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