Where Are They Now?
Blackwell is the latest boxer to retire from the sport this year, after Manny Pacquiao, Joe Selkirk and Kevin Mitchell.
Whilst there’s no rule book for when a professional boxer should retire, the nature of the sport means that the majority will hang up their gloves at around 30, meaning they still have plenty of life in them to pursue new career options.
With that in mind, I’ve taken a look at some of my favorite boxers to see what they’re up to now.
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Ricky Hatton
The Hitman has been in and out of the news a fair bit since his retirement and it’s not been a great watch. Far from his inner-ring prowess, Hatton succumbed to the dark and disastrous world of heavy drinking and drug abuse – not something anyone wants to see from a welterweight champion.
However, he now seems to have got used to his life outside the ring and spends his time promoting the sport he loves and running his own gym in his hometown of Hyde, in Manchester.
Despite another comeback from the Hitman being unlikely, he’s encouraging fellow Northerner Tyson Fury in a fight against Anthony Joshua, although he has suggested he’d be better fighting “sooner rather than later because he’s going to improve.”
Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images
Carl Froch
Carl Froch spoke to SkySports to dispel rumours of a possible comeback at the end of last year. In the article, he describes how he left the ring on a high after retaining his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles in a rematch against George Groves – a match which saw the biggest boxing match attendance in Britain since World War II.
“I can honestly say that I’ve ticked every single box on a fighter’s bucket list. I’ve won titles at home, I’ve won them abroad, I’ve defended titles abroad and lost them, and gone on to dominate my next opponent to win them back. I’ve boxed in every stand-out venue across the country.”
Froch is now hoping to pursue a career in acting, starting with a role alongside Jason Stratham in a three part crime drama. Since his retirement he has also become a brand ambassador for partypoker, explaining:
“There are lots of similarities between boxing and poker, mainly the mental strength required for both. The best comparison is the mental edge you need during a boxing weigh-in or pre-fight press conference, you have to try and psych out your opponent – it’s all about holding your nerve under pressure which is so important when player poker.”
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George Foreman
George Foreman is now more synonymous with healthy eating than he is boxing, despite his great sporting achievements.
After putting his success down to healthy eating, he signed an endorsement deal with Russell Hobbs Inc. and the “lean, mean, fat grilling machine” was born alongside the George Forman Grill.
And thanks to the sale of more than 100 million grilling units, Foreman has made the majority of his fortune after his boxing career. Besides his grill empire, Foreman is also an established author and an ordained minister.
