Antonio Esfandiari – poker and boxing legend in one!

Antonio Esfandiari – poker and boxing legend in one!

It's a bit difficult to pin down exactly what Antonio Esfandiari is best known for. A professional poker player, a good illusionist, but also a boxer. The Iranian is capable of grabbing attention in various ways. From the World Series of Poker, he has 3 bracelets, a total of 10 final tables and 46 cash finishes. To these achievements we add 2 titles from the World Poker Tour and another final table from the European.

Apart from poker strategies, the tricks he can do with chips are also popular. Magic tricks that are capable of astonishment. It is no coincidence that the Ultimate Poker site chooses him as its main face. The actor Kevin Hart chooses him as his boxing rival, but this does not turn out to be a very useful move...

In 2009, poker professionals Gus Hanses and Theo Jørgensen met in the boxing ring in a bet of over 30,000 euros. Probably a modest amount compared to the 35:1 odds Hart is offering Esfandiari if he beats him. Antonio's stake remains unknown, but his 3-round decision win is far from an open secret. The two met in Santa Monica, California. The magician defeats his rival, who, despite his acting profession, is passionate about sports and has been training hard all his life. Hart declares Antonio a “skinny Persian” but loses…

Esfandiari's life could have been very different. Born Amir, he says of professional poker: "It's not what an Iranian son should do to make his parents proud." Multimillion-dollar earnings likely help Esfandriari Sr. easily forget such stereotypes. And his future daughter-in-law... Antonio married Amal Bunahra - daughter of poker pro Bob Bunahra. What can we expect from their son born in 2015?

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