Jason Statham is confident Shaw would wreck Hobbs in a Fast and Furious fight

The whole conceit of Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is that the two titular heroes, each a badass operative in his own right, must overcome their considerable differences and learn to work together if they want to have any hope of taking down a superhuman terrorist. But all that forced teamwork doesn't mean that Hobbs and Shaw — or the actors who play them — could ever totally put aside their egos.

Speaking with SYFY WIRE at the movie's press junket in London, Jason Statham made clear that he has complete confidence that his character, the British agent Deckard Shaw, would wreck Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs in a no-holds-barred, hand-to-hand throw-down — not despite their size difference, but because of it.

"The thing about Shaw is that he's a precision guy, and we all know what precision and speed does," Statham said. "If you're hit in the right place — you can be twice the size of Dwayne, but a kick to the nuts is a kick to the nuts, you don't get protective muscles around the ballsack."

To be clear, he wasn't saying he'd just punt Hobbs in the groin — Statham also talked about how giant bulk can be a hindrance in a fight, whereas speed, momentum, and quick-twitch muscle actions provide the real power. The 47-year-old actor did admit that he got punched more in this movie, the first spinoff of the Fast and Furious franchise, than in any previous film, and director David Leitch explained that everyone involved got beat up far more than they were used to. That includes Johnson; Idris Elba, who plays the villainous Brixton, told SYFY WIRE that he delivered a blow to the former pro wrestler that was unprecedented in his movie career.

Watch SYFY WIRE's interview with the cast and crew of Hobbs and Shaw below — the movie hits theaters on August 2.