Martyn Ford recently shared that he has doubts regarding how seriously his opponent is taking the boxing match up.
Ford will be boxing “The Iranian Hulk” Sajad Gharibi on April 30 as a part of celebrity boxing promotion Boxstar. The same card will feature the boxing debut of former Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra.
Neither Ford nor Gharibi have any boxing experience whatsoever, but that has not stopped fans from being excited about the match. Ford is also incredibly eager to kick off his career. The actor/bodybuilder is 39 and noticeably older than any of his potential boxing opponents.
The anticipation hit a peak after “The Iranian Hulk” appeared in person during a promotional event for the match in Dubai. Gharibi looked a lot smaller and less muscular than his persona showcased on Instagram, which led to fans saying that he was photoshopping his gains.
During a heated faceoff, Ford looked significantly bigger, stronger, and in better shape than his opponent. After the two heavyweights got close, Ford easily shoved Gharibi and sent him stumbling all the way across the ring.
Previously a press confrence out of Dubai that featured both of them went sideways as Hulk pretended to want to escalate with Ford, and with Ford ice cold toward his opponent.
In a recent press conference, Ford stated that he doesn’t want to be perceived as a bully. He hopes that Gharibi steps up to become a worthy opponent.
“A lot has been said, I am asking the question if he genuinely wants to fight me?” Ford said at a press conference.
“Because I don’t want to step in the ring and be perceived as a bully and seen as intimidating someone who hasn’t put the same work in as I have. If he really wants to do this fight, tell everyone he wants to do this fight and don’t put it on me.”
“There is a lot of passion but at the end of the day your face goes in there face-to-face and it is fight or flight. So for me, that was a case of ‘do you want to be here as well and for me, that answer is no. If he agrees to step in and do it he needs to be ready.”
“One hundred percent I will bring everything to the table but I expect if he is serious about fighting then he gets his a** into gear because I don’t want to disappoint people at the event.”
In his defense, “The Iranian Hulk” stated that he already lost 30 pounds during his fight camp and he is drastically improving his cardio for the fight.
After footage was released from Gharibi’s training sessions, fans began questioning if the “Hulk” was actually taking the bout seriously.
In a video posted he posted, Gharibi is seen taking part in a pretend sparring session in which he and his training partner throw fake punches at each other. In another video, part of his training includes deliberately getting beat up with a wooden plank.
Gharibi and Ford will be headline a boxing card on April 30th at the O2 Arena in London.