Boxing fans are adament that a number of rounds in Thor 'The Mountain' Bjorsson's win over Eddie Hall were stopped prematurely on Saturday night, with footage of the 'early finishes' emerging online.
Icelandic strongman and actor Bjorsson deservedly walked away with the Titan belt after all three judges scored the fight 57-54.
The 33-year-old Game of Thrones cast member, who scored two knockdowns over Hall, was declared the winner by unanimous decision and well, plenty of people agreed with the result. You can watch the highlights below.
Hall, who pledged to "rip Thor's fu**ing head off" in the fight, started the more aggressive and looked to be in a strong position after rounds one and two. But after gaining some much-needed momentum, Thor gained the upper hand in rounds three, four and five.
Both men looked fatigued in round six as the clock slowly ticked away in the bottom left corner. In fact, it appeared that the fight was stopped 10 seconds early – an observation that was spotted by some.
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And it wasn't the first time rounds finished prematurely, according to fans online.
"Noticed they would ring the bell in the second round and last round EARLY," one fan said on social media.
"[There would] be 5-10 seconds left and they ring the bell early. What's up with that? You guys don't call the shots but what's with the bell ringer and ref? Eddie knocked Thor back and ref didn't let him follow through."
One fan wrote directly to Hall on Twitter, saying: "You know that they stopped multiple rounds early, the 6th round was stopped 10 seconds early, and if you're not up someone's ass about this you're making a mistake. You got robbed on points."
A third commented on the fifth round early finish alongside a video: "Thor’s gas tank is impressive, Eddie Hall seems to be running low, but did anybody else notice Round 5 ended about 3 seconds too early?"
Another wrote: "The Eddie Hall vs Thor fight was an absolute s*** show and I’m sure it was stopped with 10 seconds left on the clock."
After the fight, Game of Thrones cast member Thor 'The Mountain' Bjornsson thanked Hall and his team for putting up "a hell of a battle" on Saturday night.
"If he wants a rematch I'll take one no problem," he said. "I would like to thank Eddie Hall and his team. I'd never been dropped in training so he really can punch hard. But today I believe boxing technique one.
"I'm really enjoying this journey and if there are other opportunities I am at least open to it."
Hall didn't hang around after Thor picked up the unanimous decision win, and quickly headed to the locker room. But he eventually reacted the loss on Instagram, saying he is taking the defeat "as a man."
He said: "You know what, I can take things as a man. It is what it is, that's boxing. At the end of the day I've just fought the biggest man on the planet in a boxing match. I'd like to see anyone else get the balls and do that.
"It's been a hell of a journey; I've enjoyed it and hopefully there's a rematch and we can do business again. I want to wish everyone out there... that you're staying safe, staying positive and you keep moving forward in life.
"The most important thing is family - this gorgeous woman (his wife Alexandra Hall) is my rock and no matter what happens I get to go home to her and the kids."
Thoughts on the fight?
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Topics: Eddie Hall, Hafthor Bjornsson, Boxing
Jack Kenmare