Hansen to throw down with Jorgensen

The poker table isn't the only arena where Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen are willing to go head to head.

The two heavyweights of the poker world will face off in the boxing ring Feb. 21 to settle an old score.

Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen have had a friendly rivalry both at the poker table and away from it for quite some time. Their usual competition away from the felt is on the squash courts, but it got to the point where Jorgensen could no longer beat Hansen at squash.

According to a press release, Jorgensen also got tired of seeing Hansen celebrate his victories by shadow-boxing.

"Gus was such a pathetic boxer that I was pretty sure I could beat him," Jorgensen said, explaining why he proposed moving to the boxing ring for their next competition.

There's 200,000 DKK, approximately $35,000, riding on this boxing match, and Hansen is convinced of his superior physical abilities and will only take $25,000 off of Jorgensen if he wins.

That's given Jorgensen plenty of incentive to get some training in before the big day. EkstraBladet.tv has footage of Jorgensen getting in some practice.

Does Jorgensen have the eye of the tiger? We'll find out Feb. 21.

Perhaps the match is more about pride at this point than money.

"Forget about the money, this is all about the glory," Jorgensen said. "The loser of this fight will definitely hear about it for many years to come."

The match will also have a huge potential audience, meaning the loser could be hearing about it from all over the world for many years to come as well.

The boxing event is taking place in one of Denmark's largest indoor arenas, and poker fans and pros as well as boxing stars are expected to attend. Poker fans who happen to be in Copenhagen for the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour event can get tickets to see the boxing match at billetlugen.dk.

The match will be commentated by Mikkel Kessler, super middleweight world champion, and those who can't make it to Denmark for the event can watch it live, free of charge, on GusHansenTV.com.

"This fight is going to be incredible!" Kessler said. "These guys are crazy. It is going to be a fight to the death. Neither one is going to surrender, but only one of them will survive."

If the 2+2 forum chatter is any indication, Hansen is the heavy favorite in this fight, but he's not taking the fight lightly either. He has been training with professional trainer and Olympic boxing medalist Johnny De Lima to prepare for the fight.

"Beating up Theo in boxing will be much more enjoyable than winning over him in poker," Hansen said. "The sweet taste of victory cannot even be made up in terms of money."

For Hansen, he's looking at potential victory whether he wins or loses the actual boxing match. The bout will launch his Gus TV, an online TV channel that will allow poker fans to see Hansen in action as he travels the world to play poker.

"Having my own free TV channel is a fantastic opportunity for me to connect with my fans and supporters," Hansen said.

"Today's technology means everyone can sit down with me and watch as I play live at tournaments or even just in my hotel room with friends. And because it is online, Gus TV can reach the whole world, for fans as far away as Osaka and Oklahoma."