TEHRAN - Hulk remind us the superhero in the Marvel Comics created by Stan Lee but recently he doesn’t come to mind. Sajad Gharibi, known as Iranian Hulk, draws attentions to himself.

Gharibi showed a complete lack of boxing skills as he was dropped inside two minutes of the main event show against Kazakh Titan - real name Djumanov Almat Bakhytovich - in Dubai Sunday night.

He has angered Iranian countrymen and women due to his poor performance.

The Iranian people believe that Gharibi has brought disgrace on the whole country by showing the embarrassing performance and should not be allowed to participate in the international events representing Iran.

Zabihollah Poorshab, who has won three gold medals in the World Karate Championship, says that Gharibi has not been allowed to represent Iran in the events.

“It was not a fight, it was a show. We should avoid talking about these people since Iran has many great persons in all levels. I think he wants to show himself and the Iranian people should not follow him on the social media,” Poorshab said.

 “I don’t know how he has been permitted to participate in the events. He doesn’t deserve to represent Iran in the competitions,” he added.

Hadi Choopan, the Iranian professional bodybuilder, who won a bronze medal in the 2021 Mr. Olympia, also criticized Gharibi.

“Please don’t destroy our reputation. Stop it please. To fly is not an easy job, otherwise the roosters and hens will start to fly in the sky,” Choopan published on his Instagram account.

Gharibi was due to take on Martyn Ford three months ago but the fight was first postponed and then cancelled over fears for the Iranian's health, mirror.co.uk reported.

“I can hold my head high, and with pride,” Ford wrote. “You only need to watch the fight, to understand EXACTLY why I pulled out. I just hope those who encouraged and pushed this fight are there to support him after. To me, I would rather walk away and risk being called a coward over potentially what could have happened to this kid in the ring if we had fought.

It’s time to forget the story of the fake Hulk. We need the persons who can show the world how strong we are.

Photo by Jules Annan