Former middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo has fulfilled a lifelong dream in becoming a fully-fledged professional wrestler.
The 30 year-old, who was forced to retire in March due to injury, has been training to compete in another ring ever since.
This week, Ogogo signed a deal to compete alongside the likes of champion Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes at All Elite Wrestling.
Announcing his deal with AEW, Ogogo was compared to ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson by one of his admirers.
The fan said: “This might be a stretch to a lot of people. (But) Agogo reminds me of a young Dwayne Johnson, and you know what happened there? Just Saying!”
Replying to the kind message, Ogogo added his intention to try his hardest to fulfill that prophecy.
Anthony Ogogo in wrestling
“Thanks for the MASSIVE compliment. I’ve got some way to go before I can get anywhere near ‘The Great One’, but like @TheRock, I pride myself on my desire and determination and for being the hardest worker in the room.
“Put the effort in, the results will come. Thank you once again,” said the Lowestoft man.
This is what happens when jumped up little mugs try to spoil my announcement night. Ogogo is ALL ELITE @AEWrestling https://t.co/xNErRqfBXx pic.twitter.com/QbKHb7CXPn
— Anthony Ogogo (@AnthonyOgogo) October 26, 2019
BOXING
It’s a far cry from seven months ago when an emotional Ogogo had exhausted every avenue in trying to save his boxing career.
An eye injury scuppered those chances despite several operations.
“Accepting the end gracefully is part of being a professional athlete,” stated Ogogo. “Calling an end to dreams that are left unfulfilled is the hardest part.
“Life is all about doing your best with the cards you’ve been dealt. That is what I have done time after time.
“Sadly, after seven operations on my eyes in two and a half years, I am forced to admit that they are too damaged for me to safely return to the boxing ring.
“With a heavy heart, I have to retire from professional boxing with my dreams unfulfilled.
“This retirement statement, and my life, could now go one of two ways from here on out. I could be bitter or I could be better.
“I could be bitter at having my career cut down whilst I’m in the prime of my life. A devastating succession of injuries prevented my professional career from taking off and now I’ll never get the chance to realise my true potential and show the world what I truly had in the locker.
“Plagued with thoughts of what I could have been are enough to make a man bitter. I choose to be better.”
