Rio Ferdinand
The former captain of the England national team, as well as a Leeds and Manchester United star player, is known as one of the best soccer players, with 14 trophies and 6 Premier League titles under his belt. The 42 years old athlete decided to take up boxing as a coping mechanism and as a new needed career path after he lost his wife and mother of their two children, Rebecca, to cancer in 2015. Ferdinand was offered the “Defender to Contender” Challenge by Betfair, and accepted, going for the belt. Unfortunately, he was denied by the British Boxing Board of Control, who thought he didn’t appreciate the risks and that it was just a publicity stunt, even though Ferdinand said he had a lot of respect for the sport. Rio was so disappointed by the decision to not grant him a license, especially after training 4-5 times a week. He claimed he never felt better physically and mentally but despite that, he was forced to hang his gloves before even had the chance to step into the ring.
Rio Ferdinand
