Sajad Gharibi is better known for his internet moniker – Iranian Hulk. Gharibi is currently scheduled to box ‘World’s scariest man’ Martyn Ford. Ford is ginormous in stature and has previously done acting and bodybuilding – he’s also looking at other celebrity boxing events in his future. Gharibi is also known for his extreme physique – but that’s also been one of the stumbling blocks in his career as the public believes he embellished or full on photoshopped his gains.
Gharibi recently had a contentious face off with Ford in Dubai. At the face off the tension spilled over and the two got in a bit of a scuffle.
Hulk later characterized the stunt as ‘cheap’:
“My only intention was to just get close to my opponent. But a very cheap and unexpected reaction took place. What does that show?”
“It’s not very gentleman like, I have been here for ten days and I have been away from training and a lot of things that will help me. And during that meeting I wasn’t even ready, I wasn’t even warmed up yet. He replied by showing how scared he was but I guarantee on fight night wait for my reaction.”
But that wasn’t all – Gharibi also attempted to make things physical at the press conference.
But the event had caused a huge rift in the family of Gharibi. According to Iranian hulk – his parents have disowned him since.
Gharibi recently revealed that his parents refuse to talk to him, and he is now forced to take sleeping pills due to the stress. “I cannot call my family; when I returned [to Iran] I didn’t go to my family,”
“I can’t talk to my father and my mother, when I spoke to her, said: ‘The person in this video that I saw was not my son, my son is way stronger than this’.”
“It hurts my heart when I can’t talk to my family. I have lost my pride and I am destroyed. How can I explain? They deceived me and I fell to the ground. My family said that you will go there and finish him. They expected the other way around. How can I sleep or get any rest?
“I personally feel very bad and I cannot sleep but I am now taking sleeping pills. When a mum says that to her child, how can it be tolerated? There is a lot of pressure, if I got paid even one dollar to do that I can’t continue.”
The bout was initially booked for April 2nd but was subsequently moved to April 30th. Currently, Patrice Evra is scheduled to make a boxing debut on the same card.
“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.”