As Rio Ferdinand announced his decision to compete at a professional level in boxing let's take some time to look back at how some other sports stars have fared when they tried to make the transition.
1.Conor McGregor; UFC to boxing
The UFC superstar McGregor tried his hand at boxing in a much-hyped fight with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather earlier this year. He boasted that he would knock out Mayweather within four rounds. However, all but the most optimistic of fans could see this for what it was and sure enough, despite putting on a brave show, McGregor was stopped by a convincing Mayweather.
Whether Conor McGregor intends to continue in boxing remains to be seen, after realising that the skills necessary to compete at such a level are honed over decades, not just a few months.
2.Rebecca Romero; rowing to cycling
After winning a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 in the quadruple sculls, Romero was forced to quit the sport due to consistent back problems. She looked for another outlet for her considerable athletic ability and found cycling. In 2008, she competed for Team GB at the Beijing Olympics and won gold in the individual pursuit. She is only the second woman ever to win medals at two Olympics in different sports.
3.Michael Jordan; basketball and baseball
As probably the most successful basketball player of his generation, Michael Jordan was an international superstar.
When the time came to retire from his first love in 1993 as a three-time NBA Champion, he tried his hand at baseball, signing for Chicago White Sox and playing for their affiliate side Birmingham Barons. He struggled to achieve any level of success and, although attendance levels were sky high for the Barons, he decided to return to the NBA and Chicago Bulls in 1995.
His hunger for success was not tarnished and he led the Bulls to three more titles before quitting for good.
4. Dwain Chambers; athletics and NFL
Chambers was undoubtedly one of the UK's most talented sprinters and won gold at the European and Commonwealth games throughout the 90's and 00's. After doping scandals brought his athletics career to an end he tried his hand as a wide receiver for Hamburg Sea Devils in the NFL Europe League.
Sadly, the league was cancelled before he had a chance to shine but his view expressed years later was that trying to make the switch from track to NFL was" like trying to learn chess from scratch."
5. Sir Ian Botham; cricket and football
Not only was 'Beefy' Botham one of England's best ever all-round cricketers, accumulating 5000 runs in 102 test matches for England, he also played league football for Scunthorpe United.
And one from the archives.
Denis Compton was a gifted cricketer in the 1930's, making his England debut in 1937. He averaged 50 with the bat for his country in test matches. He also played football for Arsenal and debuted for the North London side in 1936. He even won the FA Cup in 1950.
The transition from one sport to another, we can see from the list above, is not an easy one. Particularly when a whole new set of skills need to be learnt. It is admirable that Rio wants to test himself in a new arena, but maybe, just maybe, it is too late to adapt.
