A video posted on the ‘World’s Strongest Fan’ YouTube channel showing ‘The Mountain’ Hafthor Bjornsson honing his boxing skills has been met with fans praising improvements to his speed and movement.
The Icelandic strongman, who won the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2018, is training for an upcoming fight with Eddie Hall in September 2021.
Hall was crowned the World’s Strongest Man champion in 2017. The pair have been rivals ever since they competed against each other in the competition, and Hall’s “hatred” of Bjornsson grew when he broke his deadlift world record in May.
The 38-second YouTube clip shows the Icelandic strongman testing his punching skills, footwork and reflexes with his trainer.
Fans and interested viewers were quick to compare this video, released on June 13, with footage of his training with a double end speedball from May 29.
Comments on the video released in May were critical of Bjornsson’s technique and played down his chances of success in his bout with Hall.
One viewer simply described Thor’s efforts as “laughable,” telling him to “stick to strongman."
Another said: “If he doesn’t improve massively he’s gunna [sic] get ruined." This was echoed by another YouTube commenter, who said: “He is so bad! Eddie is gonna smash him."
One viewer and fellow boxer, ‘The Amateur Professional’, suggested that Thor wasn’t ready to be using a double end speedball in his training: “Props to him for embracing my favorite piece of equipment. But he shouldn't be using that yet. He should be doing shadow boxing and technique work."
Judging by the comments on the more recent video, Bjornsson seems to have since won over many of his critics.
“Speed is improving, movement as well,” observed one viewer, while another said that the difference between the two clips was “huge."
While Thor’s technique is still imperfect, with one user maintaining that “Eddie is miles ahead of him,” it was pointed out by several fans that he still has over a year to finalise his preparations for their Las Vegas showdown.
With a score to settle and seven-figure contracts for both fighters, it’s no wonder Thor is stepping up his training to push Hall all the way.