• Middleweight

Ogogo aiming for global superstardom

Anthony Ogogo chose Golden Boy thanks to the promoters' high ambitions © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Active Ogogo sets eyes on European title
  
• News: Ogogo seeking early Vegas fight
  
• News: Team GB captain Stalker turns pro
  
• News: Ogogo turns pro with Golden Boy
  
• News: Golden Boy eyes British Olympians
  

Anthony Ogogo has laid out the blueprint for his professional career in the middleweight division which includes gaining a knighthood.

A bronze medalist at London 2012, Ogogo became the first of Great Britain's boxing team to turn professional when he signed up to Golden Boy Promotions in December.

Since then Team GB boxing captain Thomas Stalker has also joined the professional ranks with Matchroom.

The 24-year-old Ogogo, who is expected to make his debut in April or May, has revealed that it was Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer who convinced him to sign up.

Ogogo describes how Schaefer did not flinch when he outlined his intended career path to him, whereas other potential promoters had baulked.

"I want to become a global superstar," Ogogo said. "I want to be Britain's best ever middleweight boxer. I want to be knighted in the future, I want to be Sir Anthony Ogogo. I want to get my MBE or OBE and I want to become knighted.

"I've got massive aspirations and when I said this to the other promoters I got a look back from some of them but when I said it to Richard he nodded along and said 'let's do it' and it pretty much went from there really."

Ogogo had a testing 2012 as his race against time to be fit for the Olympics was followed by his mother suffering a brain haemorrhage. Yet he still came good in the ring and beat Ukraine's world No. 1 Yevhen Khytrov on his way to a bronze medal.

And Ogogo says that his confidence of carrying his success into the professional arena stems from the trials of the past year-and-a-half.

"The reason why I know I'm going to be successful in this game is because, going back 18 months, I was told that the Olympics were not going to happen for me because my shoulder was basically hanging off," Ogogo added.

"The surgeon said 'give it a miss, you're still young and you can go to Rio [in 2016]' and I thought 'who is this guy telling me what I can and can't do?'

"So I rehabbed very quickly, I was getting up in the middle of the night to rehab my shoulder and work really hard until I was in tears and had sick in the back of my throat - that shows that grit and determination I have and that is innate in me."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.