One of the main CrossFit® mottos is preparing for the unexpected. Here because Games veterans Josh Bridges and Jacop Heppner have devised an almost unlikely competition: they decided to face each other in a boxing ring on Saturday 18th September.
The event took place in none other than Las Vegas, United States, and has been scheduled for March this year.
The beauty of this idea is that this was the first encounter between crossfitters athletes in boxing.
Index
We know the athletes: Josh Bridges and Jacop Heppner
Bridges is a former American sailor who has been participating in the Games for several years. He is 1,65 m tall, weighs 79 kg and fights in an “orthodox” style (right). He went to the Games on six occasions, taking 4th place in 2014.
Heppner, on the other hand, he is 1,70 m tall, weighs 86 kg and also fights with his right hand. Former footballer, he has participated in the Games five times, achieving 6th place as best result in 2019. He is currently no longer competing, has announced his retirement from CrossFit® this year!
Fight
The event took place last Saturday, September 18, at 22:20 (Italian time) and was divided into six 3-minute rounds, while the athletes wore 12-ounce (340g) gloves.
The fight of the two CrossFitters was held before the main meeting, between Icelandic Hafthor Bjornsson (which we talked about a few days ago as deadlift record holder) e the Canadian Devon Larratt. Meeting called "The heaviest in history" as currently, both athletes weigh over 100 kg.
Originally, the main event it was supposed to be a clash between Björnsson and 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall, but Hall suffered a broken bicep during a sparring session and their bout was postponed to early 2022.
Current speculation is that the meeting will take place in March 2022, but no specific date has yet been confirmed.
In all, in the evening, there were 9 fights in about 5 hours of broadcast.
Here is the full list:
- Main Event - Hafthor Björnsson vs. Devon Larratt
- CrossFit® Bout - Jacob Heppner vs. Josh Bridges
- Lightweight - Anthony de Bruijn vs. Giorgi Gachechiladze
- Heavyweight - Martin Bakole vs. Haruna Osumanu
- Featherweight - Stefi Cohen vs. Marcela Nieto
- Bantam - Avril Mathie vs. Jesca Mfinanga
- Super Middleweight - Stephanie Fondjo vs. Badri Gogichashvili
- Super Featherweight - Fahad Al Bloushi vs. Ayuba Tezikoma
- Super Lightweight - Khalid Naseer vs. Abdul Malik Jabir
The result of the matches?
Heppner managed to put Bridges on the carpet, who, despite having lost, declared himself incredibly happy with the match.
In an interview released immediately after the match ended, Josh explained that even though they've been preparing for months, getting into the ring to fight was completely different than getting on the Games floor.
instead, Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornsson had an easy win over Devon Larratt with a first-round TKO and has promised to knock out Eddie Hall too, as soon as he recovers from his accident.
Here are his words: “Guys, you know who I want to fight with… Come on, who is it? I know Eddie is at home relaxing on the sofa with his popcorn and coke. Enjoy your life, friend. Soon I'll knock you out ”.