AFL great Brendon Favola has revealed a stunning three-week weight loss as he prepares to set foot in the boxing ring for the first time.
Favola is set to head to the inaugural Footy Fight Night in Melbourne in August with fellow football star retired Cameron Mooney.
One-time Brownlow medalists Adam Cooney and Dan Swann are also locked in to fight, while other former AFL players will be announced in the coming weeks.
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For the 41-year-old Favola, moving to the event will be more difficult than a two-month, six-minute fight.
He is the first to admit to letting his fitness slide since retiring from professional sports in 2010.
“I’ve lost about 10kg (in the last three weeks), which is great. I was much bigger,” Favola told Wide World of Sports.
“I just cut bread and stuff. I’m training and eating really healthy, and it’s taken away from me.
“I want to get down to 110 – so I was 128 or so, and I want to get down to 110. So it would be nice if I could lose 17kg in two or three months.
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“I haven’t been less than 110 since I came out of the jungle, which was seven years ago.”
“Jungle” refers to Favola when he won a reality television show I’m a celebrity, get me out of here In 2016.
His opponents, on the other hand, have kept themselves in good shape since retiring in 2011.
Favola describes Muni as “an Adonis”.
“He walked into the gym with his top off today and I almost ran out the door,” he said of Geelong great.
Muni was much more humble when asked about his fitness.
“(I kept) fit enough … but after an hour of boxing last night I realized it wasn’t enough,” Mooney told Wide World of Sports.
“I have to go a long way to reach some kind of fitness level that will overtake me.
“We’re wearing 18-ounce gloves so it won’t be too much … I think it’s going to be a tick fight by the end, I think we’ll be cooking.
“No matter how much we prepare, it probably won’t be enough.”
They are not the first AFL greats to embark on a post-footy career in the boxing ring.
Barry Hall fought a majority draw against Paul Galen in 2019 and since then Sonny Bill Williams has also dropped out.
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Hall was involved in a pre-fight battle with Galen, the master of hype.
But don’t expect a scandalous match between Favola and Munir, who both gave the other a chance to sledge.
“I think they want us to trash talk, but we’re football players, we’re not boxers,” Favola said.
“She’s got a deadly right, and I’ve got a pretty heavy right.
“I don’t think it will go to the third round.”
Fight night tickets are available through Tickettech.
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