Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall is set to face Tommy Fury in a boxing exhibition on Saturday, June 13, but “The Beast” is already looking beyond the Manchester bout, outlining clear plans for a return to mixed martial arts and a definitive roadmap for his combat sports retirement.

The 38-year-old strongman, who was crowned World’s Strongest Man in 2017, has made no secret of his preference for the octagon over the boxing ring, despite his upcoming clash with the undefeated professional boxer. Hall, a near-330lb man, believes MMA plays more to his natural strengths.

The exhibition bout against Tommy Fury

Hall’s upcoming fight against Tommy Fury, 27, will take place at the AO Arena in Manchester and is scheduled for six two-minute rounds. It marks Hall’s second foray into boxing, following a unanimous decision loss to Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson in 2022. Fury, meanwhile, boasts a professional boxing record of 11 wins from 11 bouts, including notable victories over Jake Paul and KSI.

For this camp, Hall has adopted a unique training approach, completely cutting out weightlifting. “In the last camp, I stopped working out eight weeks out and got injured eight weeks out. I’ve cut the weights off completely and learnt not to overdo it because I’ve burned out quite a few times,” Hall told SPORTbible. “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.”

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Hall’s nutrition for the fight is managed by a dedicated chef, adhering to a strict carnivore diet of meat, eggs, and dairy, with only occasional sourdough bread and chocolate. Fury, on the other hand, acknowledged the challenge of finding suitable sparring partners for an opponent of Hall’s immense size. “Yeah, it’s tough [finding sparring partners the same size as Eddie]. 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,” Fury explained to SPORTbible.

MMA ambitions and a world title swansong

Despite the immediate boxing challenge, Hall’s focus firmly remains on MMA. He made a successful return to combat sports in an MMA octagon at XTB KSW 105, securing a 30-second knockout victory over Mariusz Pudzianowski. Hall articulated his preference for the sport, stating, “Boxing just takes away from my strengths, which is my strength. 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.”

Hall has already identified his primary target in MMA: Dillon Danis. “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 confirmed. Beyond Danis, Hall is also eyeing a potential bout with former UFC fighter and current KSW heavyweight, Phil De Fries.

The fight against De Fries, according to Hall, would serve as his swansong. “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,” he revealed, signaling his intent to retire from combat sports after competing for a world title.

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