Flintoff on dangerous ground as he reinvents himself as heavyweight boxer

Sports Journalist

Friday 7 September 2012

One can understand why Sky are excited by their latest wheeze of persuading the former England crdicket captain, Andrew Flintoff, to try to transform himself into a heavyweight boxer.

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Neil Drysdale

At a stroke, they have a snappy title, The Gloves Are Off, a larger-than-life protagonist, who relishes putting his body on the line; and the prospect of three hour-long documentaries, charting Flintoff's progress with former world champion Barry McGuigan as he gears up for a live professional fight at the Manchester Arena in November.

From the broadcaster's perspective, what's not to like? Big Freddie has already proved himself an engaging television personality; even his supermarket commercials conveyed something of the Lancastrian's ability to charm audiences with the sheer force of his character. To that extent, the move from pedalo to pugilism, via lads-mag TV, carries a definite frisson. Boxing remains a dangerous pursuit and, regardless of McGuigan's confidence in his charge, the chances are that blood, sweat and tears will prevail as he ditches the pie and mash, and alcohol, in the aim of becoming a fighting machine.Yet there is something queasy about this project. Flintoff didn't depart the cricket stage in 2009 because he wanted a new challenge; he did so in the knowledge that his legs had essentially packed in, and he had suffered so many injuries in the previous five years that it was obvious his body was sending him a message. Matters won't have improved in the intervening period, but here he is, embracing a gruelling fitness regime prior to entering the ring, where he will be fighting a full-time rival, who presumably won't want to be embarrassed by a new boy. "It's a huge challenge, probably the biggest I've undertaken, and especially in such a short time," says Flintoff. Worse still, the producers have stated "Cameras will follow the Flintoff family, wife Rachael and their three kids." In other words, we will be invited to be participants in another reality show where people cry, fret, and expose emotional highs and lows to the public. Maybe that's okay for consenting adults, but what about children potentially having to deal with their dad being beaten senseless for the sake of ratings?

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Flintoff on dangerous ground as he reinvents himself as heavyweight boxer

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