GAME OF THRONES star Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson battled Irishman Steven Ward in a lively boxing debut.
Thor weighed a whopping 10stone heavier than his opponent, and got three solid rounds in the bank ahead of his massive heavyweight showdown against rival Eddie Hall this September.
Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…
‘BIG HEART’
Thor was full of praise for cruiserweight Ward after the lively draw: “Steven is unbelievable. I doubt many people would want to step into a ring with someone my size.
“Stevie has a big heart. To come here and do this exhibition with me means a lot. I needed that experience.
“Steven is the same height as my opponent in September, and this was great.”
BOXING CLEVER
Thor’s team will be very pleased with his mobility and ring awareness showed in that tune up, his first boxing match.
The big man says he plans to fight a few more times as his preparations continue for September’s fight against strongman rival Eddie Hall.
FIGHT REPLAY
Thor has uploaded the full video of his bout against Steven Ward to his YouTube channel.
Relive ALL of the action here…
‘SHOOK ME TO MY BOOTS’
Steven Ward says one of Hafthor Bjornsson’s punches shook him to his boots.
He commented: “I’ve never seen a big man like that move so well. He hit me one shot. It shook me to my boots.
“So, I started running. It was great being back, though. Thanks to everyone who came out.”
‘K.O EDDIE HALL’
Thor has vowed to knock out Eddie Hall after making his boxing debut in the exhibition draw vs Steven Ward.
The heavyweight pair do battle in Las Vegas later this year in September.
He said: “I have huge respect for this sport, this is just the beginning.
“I will be in the best shape of my life in September this year and I will knock Eddie Hall out.
FULL FIGHT REPLAY
Catch the full replay of the fight right here on Thor’s very own YouTube page.
A lively draw capped a solid boxing debut for the big man as he continues his training for Eddie Hall.
THOR VS WARD FIGHT REPORT
From Wally Downes Jr
Brave Steven Ward survived his crazy fight with man-mountain Hafthor Bjornsson.
The 6ft 9in Iceland strongman and Game of Thrones star needed a warm-up bout before fighting fellow giant Eddie Hall in the heaviest fight in boxing history in September and picked the Irish cruiserweight.
Bjornsson weighed a giant 24st for the three-round Dubai exhibition and towered over 13-1 full-time boxer Ward who was 15st.
Southpaw Bjornsson, who shed a massive 8st of bulk for the Middle East showdown, held the centre of the ring and let Belfast boxer Ward dance around him in front of a full-house at the Conrad hotel.
THOR SPEAKS
Thor has spoken on Instagram after his first boxing fight.
The Mountain will fight again soon as his preparations for his HUGE boxing fight vs Eddie Hall continue.
He posted after the fight: “This was great! Thank you all for the positive feedback! I’ll be doing more exhibition matches in my preparation for my main fight in September. Who should I fight next?”
THOR-T CRIME
Eddie Hall can hardly wait to get in the ring with Hafthor Bjornsson, who he accused of “smearing him with lies” by labelling him a cheat after his World’s Strongest Man victory.
Ahead of Bjornsson’s fight with Steven Ward, Hall said: “When I achieved my dream of winning World’s Strongest Man three years ago, I couldn’t get wait to get back to Britain to thank everyone and share the title.
“Before I even got home to my friends and family to tell them the news, one man took bad sportsmanship to a whole new level and it was plastered all over the world’s media.
“This is a quote from Hafthor Bjornsson: ‘I was robbed.’
“For the last three years, instead of answering questions about how I defeated some of the greatest strongmen to ever live, Hafthor included, instead I had people questioning whether I really won it or not.
“Hafthor Bjornsson and his entourage have been smearing my title and the referee Colin Bryce’s reputation for the last three years.
“Because he was the Mountain from Game of Thrones, a huge TV star, people listened and people believed him.”
HALL OF FAME
Hafthor Bjornsson has promised to knock out World’s Strongest Man rival Eddie Hall in September.
Following his boxing debut last night, he said: “I have huge respect for this sport, this is just the beginning.
“I will be in the best shape of my life in September this year and I will knock Eddie Hall out.”
‘SHOOK ME TO MY BOOTS’
Steven Ward says one of Hafthor Bjornsson’s punches shook him to his boots.
He commented: “I’ve never seen a big man like that move so well. He hit me one shot. It shook me to my boots.
“So, I started running. It was great being back, though. Thanks to everyone who came out.”
FIT THOR ACTION
Steven Ward praised opponent Hafthor Bjornsson’s fitness after the pair battled to a draw.
The Game of Thrones star weighed in nine stone heavier than Ward.
But Irishman Ward said: “What a night. The exhibition is over and big Thor hits like a horse.
“But it was great. It was quite exciting, it was a great set-up and it was class having a crowd finally back watching boxing. I never expected Thor to be that fit.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Hafthor Bjornsson has uploaded the full video of his bout against Steven Ward to his YouTube channel.
Relive all the action here…
THOR’S HAMMER
Hafthor Bjornsson gave a good solid showing on his boxing debut in a lively exhibition draw vs Irish cruiserweight Steven Ward in Dubai.
2018 word’s strongest man Thor was fighting in preparation for his HUGE boxing bout vs strongman rival Eddie Hall later this year in September.
Game of Thrones star Thor, 32, dropped Ward with a big right which skimmed Ward’s shoulder in the second round.
Ward recovered and finished the three-round fight strongly, but says being hit by Thor was like being hit by a horse!
Ward said after the fight: “What a night. The exhibition is over and big Thor hits like a horse.
“But it was great. It was quite exciting, it was a great set-up and it was class having a crowd finally back watching boxing. I never expected Thor to be that fit.”
Thor will fight again soon in preparation for his bout vs Hall, and has vowed to KNOCK Hall out.
He said: “I have huge respect for this sport, this is just the beginning.
“I will be in the best shape of my life in September this year and I will knock Eddie Hall out.”
‘K.O EDDIE HALL’
Thor has vowed to knock out Eddie Hall after making his boxing debut in the exhibition draw vs Steven Ward.
The heavyweight pair do battle in Las Vegas later this year in September.
He said: “I have huge respect for this sport, this is just the beginning.
“I will be in the best shape of my life in September this year and I will knock Eddie Hall out.
HITS LIKE A HORSE
Steven Ward said after the fight: “What a night. The exhibition is over and big Thor hits like a horse.
“But it was great. It was quite exciting, it was a great set-up and it was class having a crowd finally back watching boxing. I never expected Thor to be that fit.”
THOR SPEAKS
Thor has spoken on Instagram after his first boxing fight.
The Mountain will fight again soon as his preparations for his HUGE boxing fight vs Eddie Hall continue.
He posted after the fight: “This was great! Thank you all for the positive feedback! I’ll be doing more exhibition matches in my preparation for my main fight in September. Who should I fight next?
THOR VS WARD
The lively draw was fought at a good pace throughout, even right down to the final few minutes.
Tons of positives for Thor to take home with him ahead of the massive Eddie Hall fight this year.
THOR VS WARD
Thor was full of praise for crusierweight Ward after the draw: “Steven is unbelievable. I doubt many people would want to step into a ring with someone my size.
“Stevie has a big heart. To come here and do this exhibition with me means a lot. I needed that experience.
“Steven is the same height as my opponent in September, and this was great.”
FULL FIGHT REPLAY
Catch the full replay of the fight right here on Thor’s very own YouTube page.
A lively draw capped a solid boxing debut for the big man as he continues his training for Eddie Hall.
THOR VS WARD
Thor’s team will be chuffed with that performance in his first ever boxing bout.
The first step in some great preparations for the HUGE Eddie Hall fight later this year.
THOR VS WARD
Steven Ward says he was “shook to his boots” after receiving a punch from Thor during their entertaining three-round draw in Dubai.
Ward said: “I’ve never seen a big man like that move so well.
“He hit me one shot and it shook me to the boots.”
THOR VS WARD
Ward finished the stronger in the final round after being dropped in the second
THOR VS WARD
The whopping size difference between the fighters
THOR VS WARD
The big man ended the fight with blood trickling down from his nose after a string of Ward jabs.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
