Rio steps into ring
Former England footballer wants to become a professional boxer
Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England captain, is to attempt to become a professional boxer.
The 38-year-old will confirm he is taking up the sport at what is being billed as a “major news announcement” today.
Ferdinand will be seeking to emulate Curtis Woodhouse, the former Sheffield United midfielder who went on to a successful boxing career, becoming British lightwelterweight champion.
Woodhouse last night tweeted his support, saying: “Wish Rio Ferdinand all the very best if he decides to give pro boxing a go. Who is anybody to say what he can or can’t do. Live ya life.”
Ferdinand, the BBC and BT Sport pundit, has posted footage of himself this year in boxing training on his Instagram page. In a video uploaded in January, he can be seen doing pad work with former rugby union centre Mel Deane while “calling out” boxers Anthony Joshua, David Haye and Tony Bellew.
Between each flurry of punches, he yells: “Tony Bellew? I’m here. I’m waiting. I’m ready, pal. Are you ready?
“David Haye, you want some? I’m here, mate. I’m here. Working.
“AJ, we had a holiday together, mate, Dubai. I’ll take you out. I will cut you down. I’ll take you out, AJ! Come on son! You want some!”
In a post alongside a similar video in June, Ferdinand goaded former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, saying: “Boxing Fridays … left, right, left, right … boom! Don’t beat round the bush … When ya get ur licence back Tyson Fury?!!”
Ferdinand, who will need a licence to box professionally, also revealed this summer how keeping himself in shape had helped to clear his mind after the death of his wife. Breast cancer claimed the life of Rebecca Ellison two years ago, the same year Ferdinand retired from football.
Discussing how his post-retirement fitness regime helped him to cope with bereavement, he told Men’s Health that it “enabled me to free my mind”.
He said his gym work replicated the “release time” football had provided until he left the game, adding that “until you start working out regularly, you don’t understand it. You don’t understand that sometimes that hour, or even that brief 20 minutes you snatch as and when, can be the most chilled-out hour or 20 minutes of your day”.
“Without the gym,” Ferdinand added, “I don’t know where I would have had that release time – that time just to think about nothing, or to think about something other than what was going on in my life.”
Ferdinand spoke of the beneficial effect that working out had on his mental health. He said: “I’m simply happier when I’m in the gym and working out, and I think everything else flows better when I’m doing that. It invigorates me and calms me at the same time.”
In March, Ferdinand made a BBC documentary that charted his life as a widower. In Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad, the former West Ham United and Leeds United defender allowed cameras into his grieving after a year of silence.
He discussed the difficulty of taking sole care of his children, Lorenz, Tate and Tia, and talked about men’s reluctance to speak about grief.
Woodhouse also had words of caution for Ferdinand. “The training and everything didn’t take me by surprise but I found learning the technical side of the game really difficult,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things go on in a boxing ring that you don’t realise until you get in there. It takes a long, long time to feel comfortable in the boxing ring. Your ego will take a bit of a knock. He’s going to have to get used to a few setbacks along the way. He’ll definitely struggle with the technical side of the game.”