Hulk Hogan fires up the crowd between matches during WrestleMania 21 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 3, 2005.CHRIS CARLSON/The Associated Press
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, known for his willingness to take on all comers in politics, is ready to do battle in a different arena – arm-wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan.
The face-off, billed as a "friendly arm-wrestling competition," will take place at a downtown Toronto hotel Friday morning, part of the kickoff to Fan Expo Canada, taking place in the city this weekend.
"Find out who will have reason to cheer: Hulkamaniacs or Ford Nation? " says a press release to announce the event, which it describes as an "epic arm-wrestling match."
Toronto's controversial mayor is well-known for his love of football and has some experience at political arm-twisting, such as his current efforts to get a majority of city councillors to vote for a by-election to fill a vacancy on council.
The mayor said he's looking forward to meeting Mr. Hogan, but added he doesn't think he stands a good chance of winning the match.
"I haven't lifted too many weights lately so I'm probably out of shape," he said Thursday. The mayor laughed about his brother, councillor Doug Ford, always being a big Hulk Hogan fan and said he would pose in front of the mirror doing his best Hulk flex.
"He was a little bit bigger than I was," Mayor Ford said. "But it's good, I'm really glad that he's coming here. He's going to bring a lot of excitement."
With files from Kaleigh Rogers