Eddie Hall almost stopped his highly anticipated fight with Mariusz Pudzianowski because of a disagreement about the fight rules.
“The Beast,” Hall`s nickname, is scheduled to face off against Pudzianowski, another former World`s Strongest Man winner, in Poland on April 26.
A heated argument about the length of each round almost ruined the big fight, which is the second most important event at KSW 105.
During an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hall, 37, explained: “I wanted rounds to be two minutes long.
“Mariusz wanted rounds to be five minutes long, and somehow we ended up with four minutes, which isn`t really in the middle.”
“I`m not happy about it. I wanted two-minute rounds because I`m very big. I weigh 160 kg [352lbs].”
“My physical fitness is not as good as Mariusz`s, and I`ve never competed in MMA before. I know MMA is much harder on the body.”
“When the adrenaline kicks in, your stamina also decreases.”
“So, four-minute rounds are very challenging for me, but it was basically, `Agree to this, or the fight is off.` I didn`t have a choice.”
“This is one of Mariusz`s requests, and we understand why.”
“He will definitely have an advantage in terms of stamina.”
“So, I can`t really blame him for wanting that, but it definitely gives him a big advantage in this fight.”
Hall is considered unlikely to win against Pudzianowski, a five-time World`s Strongest Man winner with nearly 16 years of MMA experience.
He admits he is very nervous about fighting Pudzianowski.
He said: “If you’re not scared or nervous, something is wrong.
“I`m fighting Mariusz Pudzianowski, who has had 26 professional fights and is a five-time World’s Strongest Man.”
“He’s a very tough man, and I`m going into the ring to fight a man who`s had 26 fights. I’ve only had one!”
“So, I have many reasons to be scared, and the four-minute rounds were hard for me to accept.”
“He has many advantages, but I decided, ‘Let him have four-minute rounds. Let’s just do this fight.’”
