Ogogo reveals he was registered blind

Several long-term ailments have meant time out of action for the 28 year-old British middleweight Anthony Ogogo, stalling a highly-promising talent tipped for future world honours. Ogogo fought through pain many times in reaching 11-0 last summer, but it was his latest fight against Craig Cunningham that almost ended his spell in boxing.

The Lowestoft man complained about blurred vision during the contest, which ended in an eighth round defeat and Ogogo has been told surgery could be the only option.

“There have been questions because of the things I’ve done outside of boxing and people asking ‘do I really want to reach the top in boxing?’” Ogogo said. “I was told that by having my eye operated on that I could make it even worse. I said I don’t care – I want to be a boxer that much. I’m willing to risk my eyesight to achieve what I want to achieve. It’s been the worst six months of my life but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.”

The London 2012 competitor has sought out several different opinions on his condition, which came on the back of major achilles surgery in 2015.

“I went to go and see 10 different eye experts to get to the bottom of the problem. It was such a bad eye injury," he explained.

“I was actually technically blind – I wasn’t allowed to drive – they took my licence away. The double vision I had was so severe that I was registered blind. If I had applied for a blue badge I would have got it! But I need to do this. I know that I could have a happy life outside of boxing, doing some television presenting or some punditry. That’s not the life I want though – I want that hard living. I want to go back to Cunningham’s backyard and bash him up in front of his own fans – the same ones that were booing me and calling me names. Whether you like me or loathe me, you’ve got to respect me and what I’ve been through. I know I can get to the top,” added Ogogo.