\u201cKevin Hart and I were playing the other day, we were hanging out, we weren\u2019t really playing, and somehow boxing comes up. So, we made a bet, and in March, around March, we are going to box in a ring.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Apparently, Esfandiari got 35 to 1 odds<\/strong> on the bet, although the amount wagered was not disclosed:<\/p>\n
\u201cKevin\u2019s in much better shape. He\u2019s an athlete. He\u2019s fast as hell\u2026I got the reach, I have a little bit of weight, but he\u2019s fast, quick and he\u2019s strong.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Esfandiari refused to divulge whether or not he\u2019s started training for the match. However, it\u2019s clear that Hart has. In fact, there are photos and videos of Hart boxing<\/a> all over the internet, suggesting he regularly trains and may be ready to hop in the ring today.<\/p>\n
Poker and boxing don\u2019t mix<\/span><\/h2>\n
Boxing has not been too kind to the images of the pro poker players or celebrities who have fought previously.<\/p>\n
Back in 2009, poker pros Theo Jorgensen and Gus Hansen<\/strong><\/a> held a boxing match in Copenhagen, Denmark. If the match proved one thing, it was that neither is a professional fighter.<\/p>\n
In 2011, Bertrand \u2018ElkY\u2019 Grospellier and Lex \u2018RaSZi\u2019 Veldhuis<\/strong><\/a> squared off in a kickboxing match that quickly dissolved into an embarrassment. Both men were left gasping for air in minutes.<\/p>\n
That same year, Olivier Busquet and JC Alvarado<\/strong><\/a> made a six-figure bet on an MMA match. This remains the one fight between poker players that turned out to be something other than embarrassing, at least for one of them.<\/p>\n
Celebrity boxing\u00a0embarrassments<\/span><\/h2>\n
Celebrities haven\u2019t fared much better in the ring.<\/p>\n
FOX television<\/strong> ran the short-lived Celebrity Boxing<\/strong><\/a> TV show back in 2002 pitting notorious celebrities against one another in three-round boxing matches.<\/p>\n
The show made the top ten of TV Guide\u2019s 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time<\/strong><\/a>. Highlights included Todd Bridges<\/strong> beating up on Vanilla Ice<\/strong> and Tonya Harding<\/strong> winning by technical knockout over a reluctant Paula Jones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Esfandiari\u2019s previous lapse in judgment<\/span><\/h2>\n
Of course, Esfandiari is no stranger to allowing prop bets to reach embarrassing levels. He was disqualified<\/a> from the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure<\/strong> main event for relieving himself in a bottle underneath a poker table in an effort to win a bet.<\/p>\n
While Hart is only 5\u20334\u2032, and also 39, he clearly has a lot more boxing experience.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMorning work #HustleHart #MoveWithHart #Progression<\/a><\/p>\n
A post shared by Kevin Hart<\/a> (@kevinhart4real) on Jun 29, 2018 at 7:56am PDT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Hart signed a deal to become a PokerStars ambassador in 2017, but he\u2019s more athlete than poker pro. He\u2019s run marathons, won multiple NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP<\/strong><\/a> awards, and in 2016, Hart signed an endorsement deal with Nike<\/strong><\/a>, something usually reserved only for pro athletes.<\/p>\n
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