Martyn Ford has been all over the news in 2022 thanks to agreeing to box The Iranian Hulk. To the disappointment of many fans, the bout fell apart during the promotion and Ford backed out of the contract.
Ford recently recalled when he first heard about Iranian Hulk aka Sajad Gharibi. Ford revealed that he and his team were sure that Gharibi is the perfect opponent for his boxing debut.
Martyn Ford aka ‘World’s Scariest Man’ is still upset about the cancellation of his boxing debut, especially towards his rival Sajad Gharibi. His debut should’ve been back on April 30 but was canceled. One of the main reasons was concern for Gharibi’s “mental wellbeing”.
Ford had trolled Gharibi for years and was rumored to duke it out with him as far back as 2018. The two were to meet in MMA via polish premier promotion KSW, BKFC and ultimately celebrity boxing promotion Boxstar.
As Gharibi explained it, Ford would frequently troll him and insulted his fans on several occasions even going into his DMs. The Iranian felt like he was set up by Ford and the promotion he revealed after the bout fell through.
Despite having a new target, Martyn Ford still can’t get past his canceled bout. The Englishman still talks about Gharibi often. This time, Ford talked about how people in Iran refer to Gharibi as some kind of huge monster.
“We were told from guys on the ground in Iran that this guy was huge. Not as big as in his photos maybe but that he was massive. Six foot three or four monster is what we were told.” Ford told Mirror .
Ford was so sure that Gharibi is a perfect opponent to clash with him in the ring, but when they first met eye-to-eye in Dubai Ford was extremely disappointed.
“He was exactly what we wanted, someone who isn’t a professional boxer but with the physical prowess to be dangerous. This is where we came to Dubai and had the confrontation. ”
“As an outsider people might say ‘what are you on about?’ From someone who was there who saw him and the way he crumbled. We had a face-off and it was one little push.”
“I looked in his eyes and then turned around and said to the guys ‘there is no fight.” Ford said.
He added, “For me I couldn’t have stepped in the ring and then looked at myself in the mirror the next day knowing what I had done to him. Then I had a situation and the hardest thing for me was knowing there is investment in a lot of time and money from myself and other people, friends and family who are invested.”
Though Ford might agree that Gharibi’s mental wellbeing is the reason they cancel the bout, he didn’t blame it all on Gharibi.
“There are people to blame for this, it is not necessarily the Hulk, the blame goes with people who should have checked him out in the first place. They should have checked if he was of sound mind and physical shape.” Ford said.
Martyn Ford claimed that beating Gharibi in the ring won’t earn him respect as a boxer and that canceling the match was the only good choice.
“To see how he crumbled and how people reacted to what happened to him, I knew exactly what was going to happen if we stepped into the ring,” Ford continued.
“Everyone knew that I would go in there to hurt that kid and humiliate him very quickly and it would be a complete no contest. I was twice the size of him, twice as quick and aggressive, he had trained but I don’t know what he was doing. I don’t know what was in his mind.” Ford added.
Martyn Ford hasn’t lost hope of having a boxing debut. The 39-year-old is now targeting former Strongman Thor Bjornsson.
Bjornsson just defeated fellow former Strongman Eddie Hall in March after a fierce 6-round match. Their bout hasn’t been confirmed yet but Bjornsson has stated that it’s possible.