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| Human Interest | |
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General Interest | |
| Other information | COMMONWEALTH CONTROVERSY He defeated India's Olympic bronze medallist and strong home favourite Vijender Singh in the middleweight semifinal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, despite not registering a scoring punch during the fight. The referee twice penalised Singh for fouls in the final round and Ogogo won the bout 4-3. The Indian Boxing Federation lodged an appeal against the result, but had it rejected. "He was doing illegal things," Ogogo said. "You can't hold and you can't put your head down. What he was doing was foul play and he got penalised for it." He was also disappointed with the scoring system, insisting that his own punches were not being scored fairly. "I think plenty of right hands were going through, a few short hooks were getting in and they weren't registering on the scoreboard." (guardian.co.uk, 11 Oct 2010) COMEBACK As part of Great Britain's elite development squad he seemed destined for a place at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, but his hopes were ended with a serious injury to his left shoulder. He was dropped from the British squad and lost his funding. After surgery on his shoulder he worked as a barman to pay for rehabilitation and continued training at the Triple A Amateur Boxing Club in his hometown of Lowestoft. When Rob McCracken began working with the British team in early 2009 he remembered Ogogo and invited him for another trial. The trial went well and he won back his place in the squad and the crucial funding. (gbboxing.org.uk, mirror.co.uk, 23 Apr 2012) BIG BROTHER He appeared in the reality TV show Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack in 2008. (dailystar.co.uk, 03 Jan 2008) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Lowestoft, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Triple A Amateur Boxing Club: Lowestoft, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Relaxing, spending time with family and friends, listening to music, going to the cinema. (guardian.co.uk, 06 May 2011) |
| Injuries | He re-injured his left shoulder during the 2011 World Championships in Azerbaijan and had it operated on in late 2011. (bbc.co.uk, 11 Nov 2011) He suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2007, had surgery in 2008 and was out of boxing for a year. (telegraph.co.uk, 16 Aug 2011; mirror.co.uk, 23 Apr 2012) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold at the 2005 World Cadet Championships in Liverpool, England. (gbboxing.org.uk, 18 Aug 2010) |
| Other sports | He was captain of the Suffolk Schools' football team and played for Norwich City football club until the age of 14. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | A couple of his friends started fighting after a disagreement during a game of football at school. He was impressed, as the smaller of the two had the better of the fight and discovered from the friend that he'd learned his skills at the Triple A club. He decided to take a look for himself and took the beaten friend along with him. From the moment he walked into the gym he was hooked. |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His mum, four sisters and boxing coach John Cremin. (guardian.co.uk, 06 May 2011) |
| Hero / Idol | Muhammad Ali. (gbboxing.org.uk, 18 Aug 2010) |
| Ambitions | To win gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, then turn professional and become a world champion. (bbc.co.uk, 19 Oct 2010; telegraph.co.uk, 16 Aug 2011) |
| Awards and honours | In April 2011 he was named as the Amateur Boxing Association of England's [ABAE] Boxer of the Year. (ogogo.tv, 08 Apr 2011) In 2003 he became the first fighter from the Triple A Amateur Boxing Club to represent England in an international competition. (gbboxing.org.uk, 24 Apr 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | John Cremin |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He started boxing at the age of 12 at the Triple A Amateur Boxing Club in Lowestoft, Suffolk. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Beautiful Brown Suga. (dailystar.co.uk, 03 Jan 2008) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Against all adversities I will always give it everything I have and leave it all in the ring." (ogogo.tv, 05 Oct 2011) "I have learnt to be more patient. In the past I might have panicked if I was down on points after the first round, but one of the best bits of advice I have picked up from Rob McCracken, our performance director, is not to panic. He has taught me that if I stay focused and do what I am good at then the points will come." (guardian.co.uk, 06 May 2011) |