Anthony Ogogo looking forward to starting wrestling career with AEW

Anthony Ogogo, an amateur boxing standout who won silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games, never got the chance to get his pro boxing career off the ground.

After turning pro in 2013, Ogogo last fought in Oct. 2016, when he lost an upset against Craig Cunningham, pulled from the fight after eight rounds, as he had complained of blurred vision.

After several operations, Ogogo finally had to give up his boxing dreams for good in early 201, when he officially announced his retirement from boxing at age 30.

But just before that, Ogogo had taken part in a small pro wrestling show in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, his hometown, a World Association of Wrestling (WAW) card run by Ricky Knight, the father of WWE’s Paige. You may have seen Knight played by Nick Frost in the 2019 movie Fighting with My Family.

Ogogo was known to be a fan of wrestling, and that has led him to his next career move. Last October, it was announced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) — the upstart challenger to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) — that Ogogo had signed a deal. He is considered to be their first “developmental” wrestler, meaning he will train through their company while under contract.

“When I hurt my eye, I spent two-and-a-half years trying to get back in the ring. I had nine surgeries,” Ogogo told Sky Sports. “Every day of those two-and-a-half years, even if my eyes were pointing in different directions, and I was — I was blind in my left eye. But I always thought I was going to fight again, always genuinely thought I was going to box again.”

He’s long been a fan of pro wrestling (he’s been seen at WWE shows in the UK and what have you), and seems to have a real passion to try and make something of this. In other words, this isn’t Tyson Fury or Muhammad Ali doing a one-off or even a couple matches for a payday, this is an actual career move that the 31-year-old Ogogo is making.

“Unfortunately, the visa’s taken seven months to come through, so I can’t officially get (to Florida) to start yet,” he said. “But it’s an amazing company, and the wrestling they’re doing at the moment is second to none, it’s the best in the world, and I just can’t wait to be a part of it.”

Here’s hoping things go well for Ogogo in his new career. He’s obviously got athletic ability, and he did have the personality to come across well in boxing. Pro wrestling is a whole other skill set, obviously, and it likely won’t come easy (it rarely does), but Ogogo knows plenty about working hard and chasing dreams. He’s just doing it again.