The star power behind Battle of the Beasts just got even bigger. Producers have confirmed that professional boxer and global personality Tommy Fury will be in Malta to guest co-host the show’s combat sumo wrestling challenge.
“Tommy Fury arrives in Malta for Battle of the Beasts. The professional boxer and global star is ready to step into the spotlight and bring his power to the stage as a co-host for the Combat challenge,” the official announcement from Camelot Films read.
It marks another crossover moment for Fury, who has fought on some of boxing’s biggest stages in recent years while becoming a household name far beyond the ring. Now, he’ll be stepping into the madness of a show designed to mash together strongman, spectacle, and sheer chaos.
For series host Eddie Hall, the addition of Fury is another piece of the puzzle in what he hopes will be a game-changing project for strength sports.
“[The show is] going to be on a big streaming platform very soon,” Hall recently told fans. “The competition is looking pretty good. We’ve got 12 athletes — mainly from strongman — and we’ve got a surprise contestant. You’ll have to wait till you see it on the big streaming platform.”
Hall added: “I’m really happy. The production is massive — we’re talking over seven figures for production. This could be the next big thing for strongman, it could really transform it. Take it to the masses. So keep your eyes peeled.”
Filming is underway in Malta, with Hall calling the island the “perfect backdrop” for a show that fuses Gladiator-style atmosphere with modern sports entertainment. “It’s very Roman Empire and the Gladiator film set is here, so it’s just the perfect backdrop for anything to do with beasts,” he told Times of Malta. “I saw the whole island and just fell in love with it; the people, the culture and the sightseeing. I thought it was just amazing.”
Battle of the Beasts will showcase 10 of the strongest athletes on the planet: reigning World’s Strongest Man Rayno Nel, three-time winner Tom Stoltman, Canadian powerhouse Mitchell Hooper, Wales’ Gavin Bilton, American heavyweights Evan Singleton and Trey Mitchell, plus British veterans Terry Hollands and Mark Felix. Rising stars like Paddy Haynes and Flex Lewis round out a field that looks set to deliver fireworks.
The competitions will blend traditional tests of strength — log lifts, stone carries, truck pulls — with wild curveballs including belly flop contests, eating challenges, and now, sumo-style combat. Hall himself has already been seen throwing down in food contests on YouTube, consuming thousands of calories in record time, and pastizzi-eating stunts in Malta have given fans an early taste of the madness to come.
Hall won’t be running the show alone. As well as Fury, he’ll be joined by Leah Shutkever, the UK’s competitive eating phenomenon and 40-time Guinness World Record holder. “Big” John Fisher, Olivier Richters, Denise Kim Gafa, Neil Agius, Matt Hookings, and more will also be stopping by to help judge the competition.
Four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw has also revealed on social media that he is in Malta to be part of the show. Shaw, a four-time World’s Strongest Man, is helping to front several of the strength competitions, and fans have been delighted to see him looking well after recent hospitalisation and stem cell treatment.
Adding Fury into the mix only raises the stakes. The boxer’s arrival ensures that when the combat contest kicks off, there will be as much personality on the microphone as there is power in the ring.
With Hall promising “the next big thing for strongman” and a production scale topping seven figures, Battle of the Beasts is shaping up to be a spectacle unlike anything the sport has seen.
Featured image credit: Instagram/@tommyfury/@camelotfilms
