IRANIAN HULK broke down in tears on live TV after revealing his parents have disowned him following a bust-up with Martyn Ford.
The weightlifter – real name Sajjad Gharibi – is widely known for his 28 STONE frame.
Iranian Hulk broke down in tears on live TV after revealing his parents have disowned him
Martyn Ford fights Sajjad Gharibi on April 30
Gharibi is set to fight movie star Ford – dubbed the “world’s scariest man” – on April 30 at the O2 Arena.
The pair travelled to Dubai in February to promote the super-heavyweight fight when they came to blows.
Gharibi, 30, was pushed to the ground and in turn lost his relationship with his parents when he came back to Iran.
He said in a TV interview: “I cannot call my family; when I returned I didn’t go to my family.
“I can’t talk to my father and my mother, when I spoke to her, 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?
“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? I personally feel very bad and I cannot sleep but I am now taking sleeping pills.
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“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.”
At the pre-fight press conference Ford, 39, slammed Gharibi’s training and questioned if his rival is serious about the fight or not.
He said: “A lot has been said, I am asking the question if he genuinely wants to fight me?
“Because I don’t want to step in the ring and be perceived as a bully and seen as intimidating someone who hasn’t put the same work in as I have.
“If he really wants to do this fight, tell everyone he wants to do this fight and don’t put it on me.
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“There is a lot of passion but at the end of the day your face goes in there face-to-face and it is fight or flight.
“So for me that was a case of ‘do you want to be here as well’ and for me that answer is no. If he agrees to step in and do it he needs to be ready.
“I expect if he is serious about fighting then he gets his a*** into gear because I don’t want to disappoint people at the event.”
Martyn Ford and Sajjad Gharibi came to blows in Dubai
