Joe “Chicago Joey” Ingramwelcomed poker pro Brian tsarrastRast to his popular Poker Life Podcast this week, where the pair discussed everything from Rast’s upcoming charity boxing match to Elon Musk.

The 34-year-old tournament pro has had a stellar 2015, mostly due to his $7.5 million score for taking first place in the Aria Super High Roller Bowl this summer. In his career, he has made three other seven-figure scores and boasts $16.3 million in recorded live winnings.

Earlier this month, Rast announced that he would be boxing fellow poker pro Sorel Imper1um Mizzi in December, with all proceeds going to a nonprofit organization called REG. In the podcast, Rast explained that the idea for the match came about as a way to motivate himself to get into better shape.

He said that only a few weeks in, the match was having its desired effect. Rast claimed he is taking training “super seriously” and feels stronger than he has in his life. He said that fans should expect a real fight and assured that he would not give up unless he was knocked out. “I’m going to get up and keep taking punishment,” he said.

Rast said that there is already a fair amount of trash talk going around, with Mizzi taking bets on knocking his opponent out by the second round. “You’re not knocking me out in the second round buddy,” he shot back.

When asked about his wife’s opinion of the fight, Rast said that she first expressed concern about the idea, but hearing that it was against Mizzi, she was gung-ho about the match. He explained that his wife has been working on a business called Troublemakers, through which she will offer Las Vegas travel packages to gamblers in her native Brazil.

At some point, Mizzi had made the seemingly innocuous, but badly phrased comment that if it didn’t work out, she could “always go back to dancing.” That rubbed her the wrong way and Rast said she still hasn’t forgiven him for the remark. In fact, she jokingly told her husband that if he didn’t beat Mizzi, he would be sleeping on the couch that night.

Apart from boxing, Rast spoke about his interest in science and physics. He called Elon Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and Tesla, a “hero” for his work in developing technology that has the potential to solve the globe’s biggest challenges. Rast himself owns a Tesla electric car and believes that a more inexpensive Tesla model currently in the works will be hugely popular when released.

As for poker, he has gone back to studying the game after his recent foray into online poker. He said that he has begun playing sit and gos for the first time in his career and is up around $30,000 in the 200 to 300 he has played so far. “I’m not going to become a dinosaur just because I’m reading about science; I’m still working on poker,” he said.

He feels that as HUD software gets more advanced, however, that the industry will continue to decline. “Poker is not solved, but between someone being very good, using software, and doing some game theory optimal work on their own, you could say that the game has become approximately solved,” he said.

Rast enjoys relying on his skill in live cash games and tournaments, where opponents can’t turn to technology for advice. “Live poker is much more of a test with no tools telling you what you should do,” he added. The strategy during live games, when you can hear and see your opponent face-to-face, is different as well. He offered the example of notorious poker pro Dan Bilzerian, who is “loud and obnoxious,” but can mislead opponents by making them feel as if he will call down with anything.

You can catch the battle between Rast and Mizzi on December 30 at the Syndicate Mixed Martial Arts venue in Las Vegas. Tickets range between $20 and $80, with all proceeds going to charity.