Bodybuilder and boxer Martyn Ford has said he lost out on a lot of money after calling off his fight with 'Iranian Hulk' Sajad Gharibi over concerns for his mental health.
Ford, aka The World's Scariest Man, was set to take on Gharibi in a highly anticipated bout on 30 April, but fans were left disappointed as the fight was called off at short notice.
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Gharibi denied having struggled with his mental health on the run up to the fight after Ford expressed concerns, but Ford has now doubled down on his claims and suggested Gharibi was not clued up on the reality of the fight.
Speaking to entrepreneur Rob Moore on an episode of his podcast, Ford said: "When I met him after the push, then to me it became very clear that he hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. His management and the people looking after him before definitely hung him out to dry."
The bodybuilder claimed he and Gharibi were completely mismatched as opponents and said his decision to cancel the fight came after Gharibi shared concerning posts on social media and burst into tears on television after his parents disowned him.
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Ford explained: "I phoned up the organisation and said, ‘I can’t fight this guy. I do not want to be responsible for this kid, one, being bullied, and two, taking his own life', because that is the only way it would have ended. I was promised by the people that this guy was 400lb and 6ft 4ins, and a pro MMA fighter, had eyes on him, apparently… The reality was he was 270/280lb, a kid in a man’s body. He wasn’t small but he wasn’t big."
Ford confirmed he lost a seven-figure fee as a result of calling off the fight, saying: "Don’t get me wrong, I lost a fortune from making that decision... Yeah, a lot of money. But for me it wasn’t worth the gamble if he had taken his life, because that would have all been down on me.”
The bodybuilder claimed Gharibi 'still wants the fight', but claimed the Iranian boxer 'seems to think [they] can arrange a fight that wouldn’t be as real as a real fight'.
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Gharibi has demanded a new opponent and labelled Ford an 'embarrassing coward' for cancelling the fight, even threatening to sue Ford over the decision.
In a post on Instagram, Gharibi wrote that he 'never cancelled any fight' and claimed Ford 'hides and runs away'.
Featured Image Credit: @sajadgharibiofficial/Instagram/@martynfordofficial/InstagramTopics: World News, Sport, Viral, Mental Health