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In an emotional TV interview, the Iranian Hulk has revealed that his parents have disowned him after he was involved in a heated altercation with upcoming opponent Martyn Ford.
Ford, dubbed 'the scariest man on the planet', will finally face off against 'the Iranian Hulk', real name Sajad Gharibi, in a boxing match on April 2nd at the O2 Arena in London.
For the first time since the fight was announced last year, the pair went face-to-face the first time in Dubai and during that meeting in February, things got heated when Gharibi was floored by Ford.
Since the heated altercation, Gharibi has opened up about the heartbreaking consequences of the scuffle.
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In a live TV interview, the 30-year-old Iranian bodybuilder has said his parents are refusing to speak to him.
"I cannot call my family; when I returned [to Iran] I didn't go to my family," Hulk said.
"I can't talk to my father and my mother, when I spoke to her, she said: 'The person in this video that I saw was not my son, my son is way stronger than this'.
"It hurts my heart when I can't talk to my family. I have lost my pride and I am destroyed. How can I explain?
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"They deceived me and I fell to the ground. My family said that you will go there and finish him. They expected the other way around. How can I sleep or get any rest?"
Gharibi also admitted that he has turned to sleeping pills as a result of the stress.
"I personally feel very bad and I cannot sleep but I am now taking sleeping pills," he added. "When a mum says that to her child, how can it be tolerated?
"There is a lot of pressure, if I got paid even one dollar to do that I can't continue."
Ford has also claimed that his upcoming opponent's photos have been 'photoshopped' after the Brit described what it was like to go face-to-face with Gharibi.
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"He was not what I expected," Ford told the Daily Star. "I think he's just fooled the world with photoshop, if I'm honest. Seeing him in real life is not as impressive as seeing him in pictures.
"So disheartening I think is the word. He was tiny. He didn't look anything like he had made out.
"That was the first time I'd seen him in real-life. He was big, probably bigger than 18 stone, but he wasn't scary big. He just felt like a big kid that didn't really train if I'm being honest.
"He was supposed to be twice my size."
Topics: Boxing
Jack Kenmare