February 19th, 2009
“Seconds Out…Round 1!”…
Anyone know what’s happening on Saturday? Well yeah…there is the small detail of the final table of the PokerStars.com EPT Copenhagen, but anything else going on? Don’t worry, your blogger will keep you in the “information loop”. There also happens to be a boxing clash of “Poker Giants”! Longtime friends and poker rivals, Gus Hansen and Theo Jørgensen will take to the boxing ring at 21:00 on Saturday night to settle a bet made by the 2 Danes early last year. There’s a handicap involved in the form of, if Gus wins, he’ll collect $25,000 from Theo. If Theo wins, he’ll take $35,000 of off Gus. Your blogger attended the press conference this morning, this is how it panned out.
Gus Hansen was weighed in at 80,5 kg’s by former Olympic boxer, Johnny De Lima. It was a light hearted affair with Gus already poking fun at Theo by saying “Nice Ass!” whilst Theo was weighing in at 86 kg’s. Both men have had different styles of training, with Theo starting way back in July and going 3 times a week. Due to knee surgery only 10 weeks ago, Gus has only had around “6 or 7 weeks intensive training”. He mentions “There will be no excuses if I lose…I should be fine to beat Theo in 3 rounds!”. Theo quipped back “When I beat him, he’ll use it as an excuse for the next 3 or 4 years!”. The bookmakers have put Theo as the favourite, and the Dane has bet $20,000 on himself to win the match. Asked if his extra weight will be an advantage in the ring Theo answered smiling “It should be an advantage, but we’re not professional boxers…so I doubt”. A voice came from the back of the room. “Is there any extra rewards for a knockout?”, both men give beaming smiles. Theo begins “Only in here…” as he pounds his heart with his fist. Gus replies “If I knock him out…it’ll be so sweet!”. Shape wise, Gus is looking a lot fitter than Theo, but Theo’s had more training over a longer period. Both men seem in high spirits, it should be a good clean fight…maybe!
It’ll be an interesting match-up come Saturday evening and I’m sure the match will be closer than most people think. Will the dodgy knee of Gus Hansen be his downfall in the ring? He’s been limping around the tournament area all week…I have a sneaking suspicion it’s just an act. We’ll find out on Saturday for sure.
