ANTHONY OGOGO’S sad story is a classic example of how a brilliant boxer’s glittering future can be brutally snuffed out by a single punch.
Ogogo, 31, was one of the stars of the London Olympics.
Anthony Ogogo’s boxing career was cruelly cut short – so now he is becoming a wrestler
Anthony Joshua and Luke Campbell won gold at those Games — but legend Oscar De La Hoya went after Lowestoft lad Ogogo and got him to turn pro with Golden Boy following his middleweight bronze joy.
De La Hoya was convinced Ogogo — with his looks, talent and charisma — was destined to win a world title and earn the fortune that would go with being a major player in a glamour division.
Ogogo, having won all 11 professional fights, was well on his way to the top until he came up against fellow Brit Craig Cunningham in Birmingham four years ago.
One punch wrecked everything in the sport of boxing for the likeable Lowestoft ladCredit: Reuters
Ogogo suffered his first ever pro defeat and a fractured eye socket to bootCredit: Reuters
Boxer Anthony Ogogo has retired from the sport after admitting defeat in his bid to recover from eye injuries
It was a huge shock when he was stopped in the eighth round.
Cunningham — with one blow — shattered his eye socket which resulted in him suffering severe double vision.
Though he did not realise it as he walked back to his dressing room, Ogogo’s career was over at 26 — and his hell about to begin.
In the next 2½ years, Ogogo had no less than NINE eye operations in an attempt to restore his sight to the British Boxing Board of Control’s high safety standards.
The boxer underwent NINE operations on his eye as he fought bravely to save his boxing careerCredit: Refer to Caption
Passengers on public transport will have been stunned to come across thisCredit: Refer to Caption
Ogogo says he spent around £100,000 on operations in a bid to save his career in the squared circleCredit: Social Media refer to Source
Five of the surgeries were on the NHS — but he spent £100,000 privately on the other four — both here and in America.
To pay his surgical bills, he remortgaged his house and sold his prized Range Rover.
Unfortunately, all the pain and financial sacrifice was in vain.
Last year Ogogo had to face the reality that his dream of fame and fortune had turned into a nightmare.
Anthony Ogogo won a bronze medal for Team GB at the London 2012 OlympicsCredit: PA:Press Association
After making the move into the pro game, world titles were the aimCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Reluctantly, he was then forced to announce his retirement from boxing.
Even before his eye problems, he had to overcome a series of injuries that would have filled at least a couple of pages of medical journal The Lancet.
He had eight operations on a troublesome Achilles, plus three shoulder dislocations, broken bones in his hands, cracked ribs and damaged ligaments and tendons.
In an emotional and poignant interview with Boxing News, Ogogo admitted he was consumed with bitterness at the way life had treated him.
The Brit signed with Golden Boy Promotions over in the US – here he is meeting American boxing legend Mike Tyson
His career got off to the expected promising start before disaster struckCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
He said: “I was in a bad place. I was miserable and I was bitter.
“I was thinking, it ain’t fair, Anthony Joshua’s earning millions of pounds and I’m skint.
“Why am I riding a bloody bus when Anthony Joshua’s a multi-multi-multi millionaire driving fast cars?
“I was becoming a person I didn’t want to be. But I sulked through it for a number of months, sulking and pointing the finger and saying why him and not me.
“That’s not going to get you anywhere in life.
“If I did that without moving on, if I carried on the way I was going, I’d be that bitter guy in the pub in ten years saying it could have been me — it should have been me.”
Thankfully, Anthony has had the mental strength to finally overcome his depression and feelings of anger.
He has signed to be a wrestler in America, where he will be on TV every week.
Ogogo added: “I’ve got things I want to achieve in my life — and I’m young enough to start again in a whole new world.”
After the cards he has been dealt, the heartache and misery he has endured, no one deserves to succeed more than Anthony.
His misfortune should also focus the minds of those who are always moaning about the sums of money elite boxers can rake in.
Because their ambitions, along with their livelihoods and their health, can come crashing down in a split second — they deserve every penny.
Anthony Ogogo has rib removed to rebuild nose as he undergoes further surgery after injuries forced ex-Strictly star to quit boxing
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
