Hafthor Bjornsson, widely known as ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones, kicked off the much-anticipated first boxing festival earlier this week against former WBO heavyweight champion Steven Ward.
The 32-year-old, who has lost a staggering 110lb since Hall’s announcement was officially announced, looked in good shape in the three-minute, three-round fight.
And in the second, he let go of his opponent with a powerful right hand, though he accidentally hit Ward on the shoulder blade, causing him to fall over.
Ward, who put on a headline display in his last professional fight – an expected hard-fought debate against Jone Volau in September, gave Bjornsson valuable experience in the ring.
The Belfast-born firefighter hit ‘The Mountain’ with several hard body shots and even left the strong man with a bloody nose.
But it was launched for a brief moment when Bjornsso launchedn attached with right hand to back / shoulder blade.
You can see that exact moment of the fight at 54:04 in the live stream below.
So how did this unusual bout between ‘Thor’ and Ward come about?
The Irishman was first introduced to Bjornsson in Belfast while doing some filming and ever since then, the pair have maintained a bond; although he did not know who it was for at first.
3 days ago“When they first told me about meeting him [Bjornsson] in Belfast, when it all started, they said I would go down and meet ‘The Mountain’. My answer is ‘who the hell is the Mountain?’ They said ‘Thor’ and I laughed to be honest. Ward told SPORTbible before the fight.
“I haven’t heard of it. I don’t watch Game of Thrones but it was there and that’s where it started.”
The 30-year-old, who trains out of Belfast and Manchester at VIP Gym, was involved in Freddie Flintoff’s professional boxing tour a few years ago and inspired the former England cricketer. he started fighting Richard Dawson at the Manchester Arena.
He admits he thought he would have been in a Bjornsson-like situation but things have gone up since then.
“I just thought I was going to go over and do some sparring that could, help him learn the ropes and give him some experience – trying to help him where he was. I can. But things have gone up from there. “Wards tell us.
“It looks like the big man is really taking it and he wanted to see what it is like at night – to have those butterflies in the stomach while it feels that way. going to the ring.
“You see all that Youtuber and stuff does all that fighting but I find this different. He’s an elite athlete – he’s the strongest in the world. He ‘s a huge athlete, not like a YouTuber.
“So I thought why not. It’s an opportunity for me to go up against one of the strongest men in the world and it’s good for me to help. I was quite happy with the offer.”