Sajad Gharibi, the social media personality widely known as the Iranian Hulk, has revealed he was battling a serious illness during his widely criticized boxing debut in 2022. Speaking to World Boxing News, Gharibi disclosed that he entered the ring against Qazaq Titan knowing a defeat was inevitable because his body could no longer respond to the physical demands of the sport.
The 2022 bout lasted less than two minutes and resulted in a first-round stoppage that severely damaged Gharibi’s reputation as the “Persian Hercules.” Following the loss, the influencer faced intense public scrutiny and a significant drop in his social media following.
Health crisis made 2022 boxing defeat inevitable
He has now broken a four-year silence regarding his physical state at the time, describing 2022 as a “nightmare” marked by severe weight loss and an inability to perform even simple exercises.
The Iranian Hulk had built a following of over one million people based on his intimidating physique before transitioning to boxing. However, he told World Boxing News (WBN) that he was in very poor physical condition leading up to the fight. “I couldn’t do professional training.
I couldn’t even do the simplest exercises,” Gharibi stated while explaining that he had kept this health struggle private until now.
Key details
While the exact nature of the illness remains undisclosed, Gharibi noted that the physical decline was so severe that he knew the outcome before the opening bell. This period of ill health occurred around the same time a high-profile proposed match with Martyn Ford collapsed.
Following the face-to-face meeting with Ford, the bout was called off, and Gharibi eventually accepted the alternative fight against Qazaq Titan.
The fallout from the first-round defeat was immediate and visceral. Gharibi eventually issued an apology to the Iranian people during an emotional television interview. He also began deleting many of the images that had initially propelled his online persona to global fame.
This suggests the humiliation of the night became a turning point for his career. While Andy Ruiz Jr. reportedly nearing comeback status often generates excitement in the heavyweight division, Gharibi’s path back to the ring has been focused entirely on health recovery.
Long road to physical and social media recovery
After a year of dealing with the unnamed illness, Gharibi says he regained his health in 2023 and returned to training. He has lived with the consequences of the 2022 defeat for four years, during which time his reputation and follower count dwindled as his persona collapsed.
For a long period, he posted only sporadically, moving away from the curated “Hulk” image that had been his trademark for half a decade.
The Iranian Hulk has recently become more active on social media in 2026, though he admits he is not yet back to his peak. He describes his current physical condition as being only “70%” of the version he intends to eventually reach.
Key details
This focus on long-term rebuilding is a common theme in the sport, much like how Tyson Fury shares details of Joshua sparring from years ago to provide context for his lengthy career trajectory.
Reinventing the Iranian Hulk persona for 2026
Gharibi has explicitly stated that the “2022 Sajad Gharibi is gone,” signaling a complete departure from the version of himself that participated in the ill-fated boxing debut. He views the illness and the subsequent public humiliation as a necessary part of his personal evolution.
By defeating the illness, he believes he is now building the “final version” of himself, intended to be a much stronger iteration than the one seen in 2022.
This attempt at a comeback comes at a time of significant movement in the heavyweight landscape. While high-level professional matches like the Gualtieri-Jones IBF Middleweight bout approaches, the influencer boxing sphere continues to draw attention for its unique human-interest stories. Gharibi’s narrative has shifted from one of pure physical intimidation to one of survival and resilience after a period of total professional collapse.
Impact of the Qazaq Titan loss on the Hulk brand
The man who once boasted one of the most recognizable physiques on the internet had to confront the reality that his “mask” was pulled back during the 2022 fight. The loss to Qazaq Titan was documented extensively by WBN as a “downfall” for the Iranian figure.
By admitting that he knew he would lose before he ever stepped into the ring, Gharibi is attempting to provide the context he felt was missing during the height of the backlash.
Despite the “genuine pain” caused by the illness and the public’s reaction to his performance, Gharibi claims he does not regret the experience. He insists that his body simply could not respond at the time, leaving him helpless during the fight.
Now that he has regained his health, his promise to return at 100% suggests he still has ambitions within the combat sports or fitness worlds, though he has not yet announced a specific return to the ring.
