It's okay to be vulnerable.
Anthony Ogogo is one of the many crossover athletes that currently perform in All Elite Wrestling. Ogogo debuted with the company in the first half of 2021, but has been on and off programming due to injury. Before becoming a wrestler, Ogogo was a professional and Olympic boxer that held a record of of 11 wins and one loss. He was forced to retire from boxing in 2019 from an eye injury that he sustained in a 2016 fight with Craig Cunningham.
In a new interview with Independent UK, Ogogo opened up and talked about his bout with depression after the injury, his issues with medical procedures, and his suicidal thoughts during that time and how his wife was the saving grace in the situation.
"I retired on March 11, 2019 I remember it like the back of my hand, my last fight was basically three years before – October 2016 – and there was no conceivable way that I was thinking I’ve walked to the ring as a 27-year-old, as a baby, entering my prime, for the last time. I spent £100,000 on surgeries in America, that was everything I earned in boxing, and much more beside. I sold my car, remortgaged my house to pay for surgery that didn’t work. Then I had an injection in my eye, it was a Botox injection to weaken the muscle to try to bring the eye to a better position – it missed the intended muscle and permanently paralyzed the nerve in my left eye."
Ogogo admitted that he was spiraling downward at that point due to the fact that his entire career had vanished right before his eyes.
“I gave my life to boxing and I had nothing to show for it other than bad vision; no money, no belts and no titles. I lost my career, I lost my passion, lost my livelihood and I’ve had to sit and watch people who have half of my ability grow and become world champions and multimillionaires. No exaggeration." Ogogo said. "I was generally suicidal and there’s one night in my life, it was December 2019, if my wife wasn’t home that day, I probably would have ended my life that night because I was beyond the brink but thankfully my wife and I were able to address my life. She literally saved my life – that was my ground zero and I’ve built up from that.”
Ogogo's life has changed for the better since he joined AEW. Elsewhere in the conversation, Ogogo stated that he's having fun and really learning to love life again.
Anthony Ogogo is not only having fun wrestling in AEW, as he has recently appeared for PROGRESS Wrestling. Click here to learn more.
Fans should expect to see more of Ogogo in the future, as he participated in the 4/27 Dark: Elevation tapings. To see the full set of spoilers, click here.
