Former Manchester United Defender Rio Ferdinand, 38, To Launch Boxing Career

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is seeking to begin a new career as a professional boxer, according to several reports.

Rio Ferdinand Boxing News

Ferdinand, 38, retired in May 2015 after just one season with Queens Park Rangers, which followed a 12-year career with United. He also had stints with West Ham and Leeds, and played for England’s national team from 1997 to 2011.

The former soccer star’s decision is being backed by betting company Betfair, which announced the news on Tuesday. Ferdinand will formally announce his career change in a press conference Tuesday.

Ferdinand, who works as a pundit for BT sport and has his own clothing line, has reportedly remained in great shape since his retirement.

“I’m doing this because it’s a challenge,” he said. “I’ve won titles and now I’m aiming for a belt.”

The London native has posted multiple social media videos of himself boxing in recent months. Ferdinand has been working with trainer Mel Deane. 

Ferdinand won the Premier League six times and the Champions League once (in 2008) during his tenure with Manchester United. He is not the first British soccer star to switch to boxing: former Birmingham City midfielder Curtis Woodhouse and former Crystal Palace forward Leon McKenzie both became professional boxers after retiring from soccer. Woodhouse went on to become British super-lightweight champion.

Woodhouse has already expressed his support for Ferdinand.

“Wish Rio Ferdinand all the very best if he decides to give pro boxing a go,” said Woodhouse. “Who is anybody to say what he can or can’t do. Live ya life.”

“[The gym] enabled me to free my mind,” Ferdinand revealed in a wide-ranging interview with Men’s Health’s The Body Issue 2017. “You’ve got to remember, when I played football, when I’d step onto the pitch, there was nothing I thought about but football. It was a clear space, a little release time.”

“Without the gym, I don’t know where I would’ve 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 lost his wife Rebecca to breast cancer in 2015.

Boxing promoter Barry Hearn said he believed there was only a 50 percent chance Ferdinand would obtain a boxing license, and derided the former soccer player’s attempts to transition to the sport.

“It’s laughable. I like Rio, don’t get me wrong, but this is an advert for a reality TV show,” Hearn told BBC Radio 5 live. “If Tony Bellew, David Haye or Anthony Joshua hit Rio Ferdinand it would probably be prosecutable by the police for using a deadly weapon. He could get himself badly hurt.”

“It’s OK if it’s just a bit of fun, making a TV show and making some money. I wish him luck, I hope he enjoys it but be very careful because it’s dangerous. He could get badly hurt and no promoter is going to sanction that. He’s being totally naive and underestimating boxing.”

A six-time Premier League PFA Team of the Year nominee, Ferdinand was also inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 20: Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United controls the ball during the match between the A-League All-Stars and Manchester United at ANZ Stadium on July 20, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)