Ogogo: I wish I enjoyed career more

Boxing ace Ogogo was one of the Team GB stars of London 2012, scooping bronze after losing against Brazil's Esquiva Falcão 16-9 following a brilliant run to the semi-finals.

The then-23-year-old punched his way past three opponents on home soil to cap a memorable Olympic debut, before going on to enjoy a successful professional career that saw him win 11 of his 12 fights.

A fractured eye socket suffered against compatriot Craig Cunningham brought a premature end to his boxing journey, however, as Ogogo was registered blind after stepping into the ring for the final time aged just 27.

Ogogo has since embarked on wrestling ventures but admits for all the glory he achieved in the ring, his failure to live in the moment and enjoy his success has always tarnished his memories.

"My first piece of advice to any young athlete would be to enjoy it," Ogogo, 31, said.

"It's hard when you're young, as you don't really appreciate it, but the first bit of advice I would give is just to enjoy your career.

"You never know when it's going to end, and my last fight was when I was 27 - I never thought I'd have to retire from boxing before I reached my physical peak because of an injury, but I did.

"It was a shame, because if I'd have known that before I would have enjoyed my career more along the way.

"All it takes is one bad tackle, or one bad injury, and you can't make that top level of competition, so it's important to always enjoy it."

Ogogo toppled Junior Castillo, Evhen Khytrov and Stefan Härtel on his way to the last four in 2012, as he - and hundreds of other Team GB athletes - captured the hearts of the nation throughout a magical British summer.

His hopes of gold were dashed but that's done little to diminish Ogogo's legacy, who went on to win his first 11 professional fights - including seven inside the distance - before losing that bout against Cunningham in Birmingham.

Ogogo has been keeping fit at his London home during lockdown, often sharing videos and updates on his physical progress on social media as athletes around the world continue their preparations for the return of competition.

Boxers need brainpower to supplement brawn, however, with Ogogo acutely aware that knowledge is king when it comes to out-boxing opponents.

The former middleweight star has an insatiable appetite for improvement and is urging the next generation to follow in his footsteps when it comes to mental preparation.

"There's always something you can do to improve, even if it's not physical - study, watch tapes, and I used to spend hours watching videos of people I might box in the future," he added.

"Some of them I may never actually box as you always fight who's in front of you, but until the draw's been done you never know who you might fight.

"It's better to have a big array of knowledge and then use a little bit of it, than not have the knowledge and then they beat you because they've done their research and homework and you haven't." Sportsbeat 2020