He’s been rodeo bull riding, wing walking, white water rafting and a darts commentator, and now Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is taking up professional boxing.
No, it’s not for his TV show Freddie Flintoff vs the World, where he tackled extreme sports.
It’s not a joke, well, not to Flintoff anyway. The experience will though be filmed and made into a two-part TV documentary.
The former cricketer is serious – he will fight a heavyweight bout in Manchester on November 30.
The slayer of the Australian cricket team in 2005, who put away his bat, ball and pads in September 2010, wants to fight.
According to Sky Sports, Flintoff is being trained by Barry McGuigan.
“This is an amazing opportunity to try a sport that I love, to be tutored by a man I respect and admire and, at the age of 34, the chance to become a professional sportsman again,” he said.
“It’s a huge challenge – probably the biggest I have ever undertaken, especially in such a short time-frame. I have a long road ahead and a lot of work in front of me. The stakes are high.”
At first glance, I thought Freddie might have smashed one too many pints with Stuart Law. This is surely a one-off, a publicity stunt.
But Flintoff appears serious. This isn’t a laugh.
He won’t be the first sportsman to turn to boxing, in either the UK or Australia. Sheffield United footballer Curtis Woodhouse has had a decent boxing career, while down under we have had Anthony Mundine, Soloman Huamono, John Hopoate, Sonny Bill Williams and others.
They have ranged from the farcical to the successful, with Mundine at the top of the list.
But several things separate those that have made the switch from aplomb and those that have done themselves, and boxing in general, a disservice.
Mundine came from a boxing family, was the right age (25) when he made the switch, had the right training and has gained experience through fight after fight.
Sonny Bill Williams is doing it part-time, may have some ability, it is hard to say, but is a supreme athlete and is still young enough (is 27 now, was 24 when he had his first pro fight) to learn the ropes.
And then you turn to Flintoff. He is 34 and has a long history of debilitating injuries and fitness issues. He has no background in boxing, no amateur career and his body has broken down under pressure time after time.
Don’t get me wrong – Flintoff was an amazing cricketer. A fantastic all-rounder who, on his day, was arguably the best in the world. He also seems like a likeable guy, who loves a beer, a laugh and a good time. Someone it would be great to have a pint in the pub with.
But a professional pugilist, slugging it out with monsters like the Klitschhkos and Alexander Povetkin who have been wearing gloves since they were in short pants? I don’t think so.
Boxing is a cruel sport, it takes no prisoners. There is no margin for error, no let up in the punishment it dishes out and fighters have to be ridiculously fit. It is also a solitary pursuit. There are no teammates to celebrate a century or a hat-trick with.
The British Boxing Board of Control has yet to sanction Flintoff’s bout, so maybe it won’t happen. Following the Haye-Chisora fiasco, British boxing can hardly endure more embarrassing episodes.
However good luck to Flintoff, it’s completely his call and he has proved people wrong before. But, I really can’t see him being anything more than a one or two-fight wonder. If that’s what he wants, fair enough, but if that is all it is, it doesn’t make much sense to do it at all.
When those punches start flying and the bell sounds for another soul-crushing round, Freddie may reconsider his decision.
Twitter: @johnnyddavidson
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