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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Donagh Corby

Martyn Ford sent message to Iranian Hulk hours before fight was postponed

Martyn Ford insisted there was "no smoke and mirrors" in his camp during a video message to Iranian Hulk just hours before their fight was postponed due to injuries on the card.

The 'World's Scariest Man' was set to meet his rival Sajjad Gharibi at The O2 arena on April 2, but that has been pushed back by four weeks after fighters on the card were injured in training.

And in an Instagram post directed at his opponent posted yesterday afternoon, Ford showed he was weighing 140kg, or just over 308lb, as he got down to fight weight.

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

"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."

Ford towered over Gharibi in their pre-fight face-off last month, with the half-foot height difference showing clear as they met for the first time.

The Iranian Hulk attempted to shoot for a takedown on his rival during the face-to-face, but was easily shrugged off by the much bigger Ford.

And he apologised for his behaviour after the fact, telling fans in a video which was translated for Mirror Fighting that the pair wouldn't be making any physical contact.

"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.

"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."

The event will maintain its full fight card for the new date, including former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra making his boxing debut.

Who do you think wins on April 30; Iranian Hulk or Martyn Ford? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

There will also be a number of Love Island stars fighting on the night, including Theo Campbell and 2018 winner Jack Fincham, who has a background in the sport.

Fans have expressed concern over Gharibi after he claimed that he had "no coach", but Ford has insisted that they should not send him rude comments.

"We have landed back in the UK, it's been one hell of a crazy few days," he wrote on Instagram.

"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.

"We have both stepped into a pressure cooker. It's not an environment either of us are used to.

"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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