Thor Bjornsson is back in boxing training ahead of his reported exhibition bout with Tyson Fury, branding the world champion "afraid".
Fury is holding on to his WBC world heavyweight championship - and will until another mandatory is called - despite insisting that he is retired from the sport. While he has hung up his gloves professionally, the 33-year-old is still open to competing in big-money exhibition bouts against the likes of Bjornsson or other celebrities and boxing legends.
The 6'9" pair have been going back-and-forth on social media over the past few weeks in an effort to build hype for a prospective bout, which Fury claims he would go to Iceland to take part in. Bjornsson, known generally as a soft-spoken individual, has been just as engaged in the trash talking and on Sunday began training again for whatever his next boxing match will be.
The 33-year-old recently defeated Eddie Hall in his second celebrity boxing match, dropping the Brit on multiple occasions on his way to winning by unanimous decision. He had previously stopped Devon Larratt within a round - and has now set his sights on a considerably tougher test.
"I just finished my second session of the day, had a good session with my coach Billy Nelson," he told fans in an Instagram story from the gym. "But hey, I have a question for one guy. Tyson Fury, where the f*** are you? I thought you said you'd come to Iceland. Are you afraid? Show yourself."
The massive strongman has lost considerable weight to get himself in boxing shape, while Fury has been staying active with frequent training sessions. Fury is currently on a nationwide speaking tour where he is meeting fans and telling stories, while Bjornsson has only recently returned to training.
Last month, Fury took to Instagram to tease a fight with Bjornsson, asking fans in a story post: "I wonder if Thor could take a crashing right hand to that big jaw? Who would have Thor's hammer? Would this mountain be too big to climb?"
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Bjornsson hit back with a post of his own, telling Fury: "There's only one way to find out, let's make these [our fists] talk. I'm 100 per cent up for a war. Let's do this."
The Game of Thrones star lost almost a quarter of his original body weight in his preparations for becoming a boxer, cutting down from a massive 205kg to 145kg in time for his fight with Hall. It was the lightest weight Bjornsson has been since the age of 10, with some believing he looks like " two different people " after his appearance changed drastically.
He was crowned World's Strongest Man in 2018 with an impressive performance. But he is now considerably less burly, instead sporting a shredded physique which is much more aesthetically impressive than Fury's, even though the Brit is the considerably better fighter.
