Some suspicious boxing fans have come up with a conspiracy theory suggesting this weekend's fight between Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall was stopped early. Watch the victory here:
The two former World's Strongest Man winners went head-to-head in Dubai last night (19 March) in what was described as the 'heaviest' boxing match in history, with the boxers weighing in at a combined 295kg.
Thor was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring 57-54 following six rounds, but some viewers are convinced the fight was brought to an end too early.
A number of social media users argued there were a good few seconds left on the clock when the fight was brought to an end, with one simply writing: "Wtf Eddie Hall vs Thor was ended 10 seconds early", while another questioned why the bell had sounded and claimed it 'happened a few times in the fight'.
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One frustrated viewer commented, "Noticed they would ring the bell in the second round and last round EARLY. Be 5-10 seconds left and they ring the bell early. What's up with that? You guys don't call the shots but what's with the bell ringer and ref? Eddie knocked Thor back and ref didn't let him follow through."
A third wrote: "The Eddie Hall vs Thor fight was an absolute sh*t show and I’m sure it was stopped with 10 seconds left on the clock."
Hall appeared frustrated with the decision as he left the ring as soon as his opponent was declared winner, though Thor - aka The Mountain from Game of Thrones, said his fellow boxer gave him 'a hell of a battle'.
Speaking after the bout, he said: "I’ve never been dropped in training, so hats off to him. He really can punch. He wasn’t lying! But today, I feel technique won. Understandably he seemed a bit angry still. He lost the fight so it’s understandable as well."
Thor stressed the long-held rivalry between the two boxers was over on '[his] behalf', but said that if Hall wants to take a rematch then he would take him up on the challenge 'no problem'.
Hall later shared his thoughts on the fight in a post of Instagram in which he made no indication that he thought the fight ended early, saying he 'can take things as a man'.
"At the end of the day I've just fought the biggest man on the planet in a boxing match. I'd like to see anyone else get the balls and do that. It's been a hell of a journey; I've enjoyed it and hopefully there's a rematch and we can do business again", he said.
Topics: Boxing, Sport, Viral, Conspiracy Theory
Emily Brown