FORMER British boxing star Anthony Ogogo snubbed Vince McMahon’s WWE to sign with All Elite Wrestling instead. The 31-year-old won bronze at London 2012 and seemed destined for world title glory until his boxing career was ended by one punch. Ogogo, having won all 11 professional fights, was well on his way to the […]
FORMER British boxing star Anthony Ogogo snubbed Vince McMahon’s WWE to sign with All Elite Wrestling instead.
The 31-year-old won bronze at London 2012 and seemed destined for world title glory until his boxing career was ended by one punch.
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.
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.
Over the next two years the fighter 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.
After failing to get his eye back right, the powerhouse is now about to embark on an in-ring comeback with his second love – wrestling.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: “I’d had to sell my car and remortgage the house to pay for surgeries.
“I stopped because there was nothing else that could be done to get me back in the ring.
“I have a funny relationship with boxing, it has given me some unbelievable years, some of the best moments of my life. But also it’s given me the worst years of my life and the most sorrow I’ve ever felt.”
But after that heartbreak, Ogogo is back smashing the gym in order to get in the best shape possible to compete with the likes of Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley in AEW after snubbing WWE.
He said: “I had a choice of WWE and AEW and I chose AEW.
“I loved the company and loved Cody’s (Rhodes) vision.
“But I want to be part of something really special. The choice was simple.
“I’ve got things I want to achieve in my life that I wasn’t able to achieve in boxing. But I still want to achieve those things.
“Now I can look to achieve them in a slightly different arena in the world of professional wrestling.”
