Donald Trump declared he would have a good chance against judo black belt Vladimir Putin in a hypothetical boxing match, during some off-script boasting at a Minnesota political rally.

Speaking to a throng of supporters, US President Donald Trump criticized the media for trying to undermine his controversial meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki, Finland in July.

“With Putin of Russia they said, ‘He was too nice’. That was a great meeting,” the US president said. “They want me to get into a boxing match with him.”

After a pause, he added: “And I think I’d do very well.”

Trump says he could beat Vladimir Putin in a boxing match. pic.twitter.com/SxU0c7NP00 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 5, 2018

But some expressed doubt about Trump’s sparring abilities.

i was there when WWE tried to teach @realDonaldTrump to throw one simple punch. He was a joke. Could not do it. Had to teach him a close line instead & that sucked too. He was an embarrassment. Putin would kill his ass in 45 seconds or less. @seanhannity is a Little pussy too. — Kenny "StarMaker" Bolin ®™ (@StarMakerBolin) October 5, 2018

In fact, aside from his penchant for golf, Trump is not exactly known as a sportsman. CNN went so far as to claim that, “like the majority of Americans, Trump is overweight and he doesn’t get enough exercise.”

That being said, Trump is the first president in American history to body slam someone live on television.

It’s not the first time that Trump has referred to boxing with the Russian leader. Shortly after the Helsinki summit, the US president tweeted that the two leaders “got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match.”

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