Eddie Hall confirms retirement decision as ideal next opponent named ahead of Tommy Fury fight

Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall has told SPORTbible exactly when he’ll retire from combat sports ahead of his boxing match against Tommy Fury, while also naming his ideal next opponent.

Hall, 38, takes on Fury, 27, at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday (June 13) with the pair set to fight over six two-minute rounds. The contest is an exhibition rather than a professional bout.

The elder of the pair, who was crowned World’s Strongest Man in 2017, previously took part in a boxing contest against his long-time strongman rival Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson – otherwise known as Thor – with the Icelander coming out on top via unanimous decision back in 2022.

Three years on, Hall returned to combat sports at XTB KSW 105, but this time traded the boxing ring for the mixed martial arts octagon, knocking out Mariusz Pudzianowski – a former strongman and mixed martial artist – just 30 seconds into the first round.

Fury, a professional boxer by trade, provides a much tougher challenge, with the 27-year-old boasting a record of 11 wins from as many bouts, including standout victories over KSI and Jake Paul.

READ MORE: UFC star banned from attending Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall fight due to John Fury 'contract clause'

Speaking to SPORTbible, Hall admitted that training camp has “been a massive learning curve” before revealing an interesting change he has made that fans may not have expected of such a large human being.

The Stoke-born strongman explained that he hadn’t lifted weights during his camp, but maintained that he didn’t expect this to impact his performance or power advantage come fight night.

“In the last camp, I stopped working out eight weeks out and got injured eight weeks out,” Hall said.

“I’ve cut the weights off completely and learnt not to overdo it because I’ve burned out quite a few times… Anytime I’m feeling rough, I’ll take my foot off the gas and pick it up the next day, and that’s stopping me from getting ill.

“I can honestly say I don’t think I’ll lose any strength in 12 weeks. I’ve never heard a man say, ‘I wish I were weaker for a fight.’ I’ve only heard a man say, ‘I wish I was stronger’, but I’ve definitely got the strength.”

Sitting across a small table from Hall, Fury explained how his camp was “pretty much the same” as usual, apart from bringing in different sparring partners to replicate Hall’s frame, which admittedly proved difficult due to the Stokie’s size.

“Yeah, it’s tough [finding sparring partners the same size as Eddie],” Fury said.

“Obviously, you get your mix. There are boxers out there that are 125kg or 130kg, proper boxers, so they’re good for sparring and everything like that. But then you’ve got your big men, but it’s pointless sparring big men with no idea.

“You need a big man in front of you who’s got an idea. So they’re hard to find, but we’ve managed to find them somewhere for this fight.”

So what does a man of Hall’s size eat during training camp?

To the surprise of some, Hall said he wasn’t overly restrictive with his diet, telling SPORTbible that he was “eating the same” as normal.

“I eat as much as I want,” he explained.

“I’m just on a carnivore diet, so meat, eggs and dairy. I eat the odd bit of sourdough bread, and I have the odd bit of chocolate. I just enjoy myself when I want. So there are no restrictions, really. I eat as much as I want and just train really hard.

“Yeah, I mean, all my nutrition is looked after by a chef I’ve got on board for this camp. Carbs are sort of my best friend now because the training is so strenuous.”

Looking ahead to what comes next, Hall revealed that he wants to “get back to MMA” due to boxing preventing him from benefiting from his strength during grappling exchanges.

“Boxing just takes away from my strengths, which is my strength,” Hall said. “I’m a strong guy in the MMA world. If I grip hold of you, you’re f**ked. And that has been taken away from me in the boxing world.”

But who would be brave enough to take on a near-330lb man in the MMA cage?

While the answer to that question is unclear, Hall is targeting a match-up against Dillon Danis, branding the American his “number one” target.

The fighter added: “He’s called me out a few times, and he reckons he’d beat me quite easily. So let’s make that happen regardless. I think that’s going to happen.”

Hall then turned his attention to a potential bout with former UFC fighter and current KSW heavyweight Phil De Fries.

“We’ve had a little bit of back and forth, so I can see myself fighting him and that’ll probably be my last fight. That’ll be the end of my career. I’d fight for a world title and then, win, draw or lose, I’d call it a day.”

And while Hall's future in combat sports appears up in the air, one thing is for sure: Hall and Fury's matchup provides a mouth-watering clash of styles that will no doubt excite fans on Saturday night.