Eddie Hall has never been one to hold back, and the former World’s Strongest Man delivered another brutally honest opinion when discussing his experience in combat sports.
Appearing on Fight Your Corner with Tony Bellew and Charlie Parsons, Hall turned his attention away from fighters themselves and instead took aim at boxing supporters, describing them as the most difficult fanbase he has encountered despite competing across multiple sports throughout his career.
Hall explained that while every sport has its critics, boxing fans stand out for their willingness to change sides at a moment’s notice while believing they know better than the people stepping into the ring.
“I’d want to call out boxing fans,” he said. “I think they’re the worst f***ing fans on planet Earth.”
To illustrate his point, Hall compared the behaviour of boxing supporters to a famous scene from The Simpsons, suggesting they are constantly switching allegiance depending on who appears to be winning an argument.
“They remind me of The Simpsons mob,” he said. “It’s like they’re having an argument across the street, right?
“One fighter’s having their say and one fighter’s having their say, and he’ll say he’ll do something and the mob will just run that side of the road like, ‘Yeah, f*** you.’
“And then he’ll retaliate. He’ll say something back or fight back and actually he’s right. And they’ll be on that side of the road like, ‘Yeah, f*** you.’
“And that’s what boxing fans are to me. They jump ship so f***ing quick.”
Hall believes the criticism extends far beyond simply supporting one fighter over another, arguing that many fans behave as though they possess greater knowledge than the athletes themselves.
“They are all f***ing experts,” he said.
Having spent years competing at the highest level in strength sports before moving into combat sports, Hall said he has grown used to receiving criticism online. However, he admitted that boxing audiences have been unlike anything else he has experienced.
“I mean, I’ve been in all sorts of sports, right? And I’ve had a lot of hate, and I’ve had a lot of s***, and I’ve had a lot of things said about me, but boxing fans, f*** me.”
He continued by saying that social media only amplifies the problem, with many critics offering technical advice despite having no experience inside the ring.
“Everyone’s a f***ing expert. Everyone’s better than you. Everyone’s harder than you. Everyone would have done this better, that better,” he said.
Hall then described looking at the profiles of people criticising him online, only to discover they often have no connection to boxing at all.
He said: “Then you click some guy giving me s***, saying, ‘Oh, you should do this, do that.’ Click on his bio, and he’s a f***ing barber.”
For Hall, that disconnect perfectly sums up why he finds boxing supporters so frustrating.
“They’re not boxing fans,” Bellew said, pointing out that they’re probably just casual followers.
But Hall was unmoved. “Boxing fans are the f***ing worst,” he concluded.
Featured image credit: Fight Your Corner / YouTube / David Cavan / Misfits Boxing
