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The fight between the poker start and the A-lister is scheduled for April.
The seasoned pro, Antonio Esfandiari (with over $27 million in total live earnings) and movie star Kevin Hart are both known for their passion for poker and their table banter.
The two made headlines [3] last summer when Esfandiari announced he would fight Hart in a high-stakes boxing match. Six months have passed since then, and now Antonio says, 'It's Definitely Happening'.
“Kevin and I talk about it quite frequently, and we joke about it often. It will be sometime in mid-April, as of the last update.”
“As a professional gambler, I just can’t turn down a good bet. When somebody offers me 35:1, I just can’t say no. How can I? Yeah, I’m not athletic. I’m a skinny Persian. And he’s a great athlete, in incredible shape, who has been boxing for a while. I’m not a favorite by any means, but at 35:1… I can’t turn it down.” he added.
Even though he doesn't have a high opinion of his physics, Antonio says there's no way backward. “At this point, I’m too committed,” he explained. “My son sees me training. He’s four years old, he knows what is happening. There’s no way I’m going to back out. Once I committed, I have to go through with it. My pride is on the line.”
[4]
“We’re obviously going to have headgear, and I’ll be wearing a cup, so I’ll be somewhat protected. But I do think there is a very reasonable chance that I get hurt, for sure. I think that I’m probably a slight favorite to break a rib or my nose. But that’s the lay of the land, you know what I mean?”
Esfandiari is probably an underdog, despite already starting to train. However, as he explained he learned a lot about boxing.
“It’s just so much more complicated than you can imagine. I used to watch boxing all the time and basically thought it was just a couple of guys wailing on each other. You know, whoever got their punch in first, kind of thing. But as soon as I started training, I realized just how intricate of a sport it really is. The footwork, cardio, and conditioning, reaction times, defense… it’s all part of it. I have a whole new appreciation for the sport.”
Despite serious money being on the line, Antonio doesn't forget the most important aspect of the bet. “There’s money on the line, but this is ultimately about bragging rights that one of us will have forever. It’s about two buddies that want to get in the ring and take each other’s heads off.”