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After two back-to-back draws, Hafthor Bjornsson emerged victorious in his third exhibition boxing match. The 32-year-old strongman defeated Devon Larratt via TKO in the first round.
Bjornsson was first scheduled to take on arch-rival Eddie Hall in an all-strongman clash. Hall, however, suffered a bicep injury that forced him to pull out of the fight.
It was Larratt who agreed to save the day and challenge a much bigger Bjornsson. The size difference between the two athletes was evident as the Game of Thrones actor stood 6'9" tall and weighed 344 pounds. On the other hand, Larratt is 6'5" and weighs 293 pounds.
Hafthor Bjornsson started the fight aggressively. Larratt found himself on the receiving end of powerful jabs, but somehow managed to land a couple of hooks, which didn't trouble Bjornsson at all.
The Icelandic strongman's pressure was relentless as he continued charging forward. A minute later, Larratt struggled to keep up with the pace of the fight. When Bjornsson unloaded punches on Larratt mercilessly, the referee was forced to stop the fight.
This was the first time Bjornsson emerged victorious in a boxing match. Both of his previous fights against Steven Ward and Simon Vallily had resulted in a draw.
Hafthor Bjornsson calls out Eddie Hall
The animosity between Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall is clear. Following his victory over Devon Lattar, the 32-year-old strongman called out Hall and vowed to knock him out.
"You guys know who I want to fight, come on who is it? I know he is at home chilling on the sofa with his popcorn and cola, enjoy your life buddy I am gonna knock you out soon.”
Yesterday, Hall had taken a dig at Bjornsson for the way he fought in two of his previous matches. The Englishman said Bjornsson's fighting career has been nothing but "laughable."
"I've watched both the fights and it was very laughable. It's put a lot more confidence in me watching his fights, because I know what I'm capable of. I know what I can do," said Hall.
At the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition, Bjornsson had finished as a runner up, behind Hall. Years later, he did surpass Hall's strongman deadlift record of 500kg.
