Miscellanious quest - "Defeat Hofgrir in an unarmed brawl".

I selected the dialogue in order to get started on the brawl, but just before I chose the final option I accidently hit circle which cancelled the coversation, I then went to speak to him again but there's no speech option to start the brawl, just "buy horse" & "how did you become known as horsecrusher".

I've tried unequipped all my weapons to see if I could start it automatically with fists, but that just alerts the guards...

Anyone had this same problem?

Have you tried asking how he became to be known as Horsecrusher again? I had this on one of the other guys, in a tavern I believe. I had to reinitiate conversation to the point where I can challenge him.

Yes, I've tried everything. I even downed him to his knees with fists while just attacking him with no dailogue but he just gets back up and attacks me again. I even killed him in frustration but that just added 1000 bounty and fails the objective, so I had to reload the save.

Reload your last save from before this conversation broke and do it again.

I didn't think of that at the time as it wasn't a bother and I just left it for awhile figuring that his conversation would somehow repair itself over the course of a few ingame days, but to no avail. Unofrtunately I have no saves before I started the conversation.

If you do not have a previous save, the only other thing I can think of is to reload the cell. Go into a building and leave, if he is an exterior NPC (which I think he is if I remember correctly). For internal cell NPCs leave the building and re-enter.

Ah... I have no ideas then... I have not had dialogue break to this extent myself.

I've had this problem across lots of the small/miscellaneous quests. If you drop out of the conversation with the circle button, you never get the quest dialogue from the NPC again. Among other things, I was never able to bar brawl with the Nord woman, "The Unbroken", in the Bannered Mare on account of it. There's no 'fix' that I know of, other than to be sure you follow all conversation trees to conclusion instead of circle buttoning out of them.

For what it's worth, I have the same problem. I've walked in and out of the stable, but I can't engage him in a fight.

I think Hofgrir is a sissy.

Have you done the quest where you have to get a mark of dibella from him yet? If not, try finishing that quest and then come back and talk to him again. It might reset his dialogue options. I've had similiar things happen.