Eddie Hall and Viddal Riley recently spent some time in the ring sparring together. During some deserved downtime time they got into the hot tub, so we thought why not ask them a few questions. It’s probably the most comfortable place possible to do a Q&A. And Eddie looked right at home.
Some of our questions were just light jabs — easy to answer, low impact — while we pulled no punches with others. You’ll probably agree they were a bit more controversial.
“How did you get into boxing?”
Viddal kicked things off nice and easy by throwing Eddie the first question.
“All started May of 2020 when Hafthor Bjornsson offered me a fight on live TV, and I had a contract shoved under my nose. Without hesitation I signed that contract, because there is nothing better in life than going and breaking that man's jaw. It was one of the most favourable moments in my life when that popped up. And I cannot wait for it to happen.”Viddal returned by saying he started boxing at the age of six. It’s clearly a story he’s told many times in the past — he urges viewers to read a past interview rather than listen to him tell the story again. He had a different route to boxing than Eddie, let’s just put it that way.
“What is the hardest part about training?”
Looking at Eddie in the hot tub, you’d think that relaxing comes naturally to him. But it turns out the hardest thing he found about boxing was learning to relax.
“You watch people training, you think you’ve got to give it 100% all the time and I was that person. I got into boxing, dove into the deep end, training seven days a week, three-hour weight sessions a day, going for runs, doing the boxing, doing the swimming. It took me about six months to realise that less is more with boxing. Learn to relax.”It’s no surprise The Beast trained so solidly for six months straight. His mentality and drive to succeed is so strong — here are some of the motivational techniques that get him through training:
Viddal took that one, no issue. He knows that when he relaxes, that’s when he has the most fun with his training and that’s when he makes the most progress.
“Do you think you can beat Thor?”
Yes. He does. Let’s just leave it there...
“How does boxing compare to other sports?”
Having competed as a strongman, played rugby, boxed and swam, Eddie has quite a roster of sports to compare. He believes the hardest sport he’s done is swimming, because it’s so solitary.
“Swimming by yourself, staring at the bottom of the pool for four hours a day — two hours in the morning, two hours at night — it’s a lonely, lonely place.”Although he also believes that boxing is no joke. He struggles to maintain motivation at times.
“Getting up every day and doing the same things day in and day out. Like every sport you have to be consistent, but with boxing it’s having that motivation to push.”Viddal seconds that. He's struggled with his motivation before, but realising boxing is about creativity gave him a new lease of life in the sport.
“I’ve got two hands and I’m only allowed to hit you above the waist and I have to find that opening, so it’s about being creative and just little things like feinting, stepping a little to your left, a little bit to your right, makes the difference between whether you can land or not, and I think that’s what makes the sport hard.”Unfortunately, Tommy Fury had to call off his fight with Jake Paul last month due to illness and injury. But we now know who Eddie and Viddal are backing if the fight is rearranged...
“Tommy Fury or Jake Paul?”
Eddie revealed all:
“Tommy’s my boy, I love Tommy, I love the Furys... I will say this: Jake Paul is the problem child, he’s an absolute plonker but I actually like him... Tommy’s a good boxer... he’s going to take this very seriously, he’s going to train hard. But I will say this about Jake Paul. He doesn’t muck about. He’s eating and sleeping boxing, and it’s paying off... I’m rooting for Tommy, and I’m also rooting a little bit for Jake.”And the prediction is in... Eddie thinks that Tommy will win. You heard it here first. Viddal’s in the other corner, and is sure the winner will be Jake. Time will tell on this one.
Take Home Message
The guys look like they’re living the dream in this video, cosied up in the hot tub talking all things boxing. All they’re missing is a nice, cold Clear Whey shake and a crispy layered bar. That would have made us really jealous.
