Featured Image Credit: MailSport
Topics: Boxing, Football, Swansea City
Ben McCrum
A football legend has swapped his football boots for boxing gloves and now looks like a completely different person.
Ever since popular YouTuber KSI fought fellow Brit Joe Weller in a boxing match in London's Copper Box Arena back in February 2018, influencer boxing events have been on an unstoppable rise.
In November 2024, fellow YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul fought former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a bout that was watched by over 100 million viewers on Netflix, earning both men an impressive pay cheque.
Naturally, several former footballers have decided to get involved in the influencer boxing scene, with former Premier League and England player Wayne Bridge even scheduled to fight KSI before it was eventually called off.
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However, there is one other ex-footballer who made recently made his debut in the ring, and he looks almost unrecognisable.
On Friday night, a charity boxing event held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, London aimed to raise £500,000 for several different charities with five fights taking place throughout the evening.
Several former footballers featured on the card and among them was Swansea City icon Lee Trundle who stepped into the ring against former Premier League defender Anthony Gardner.
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Although the result of the match was of course what fans tuned in to see, many were surprised to see just how different Trundle looked ahead of the fight as he clearly had built up his muscle in anticipation of the bout.
Unfortunately for Trundle, his clearly impressive preparations alongside Wales' former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli wasn't enough on the night, as Gardner won the fight via unanimous decision.
But that didn't stop Trundle from putting in a good performance, as Gardner twice found himself on the floor, although both occasions were deemed to be slips despite commentary team questioning whether the second should have been counted as a knockdown.
However, it appeared that it was fatigue that eventually caught up with Trundle, as following a strong start against the former Everton player, he looked exhausted by the end of the second round.
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Fellow Soccer AM star Jimmy Bullard even gave encouragement to Trundle between rounds, shouting: "Trundle! You're better than this. Knock the f*** out of him!".
Posting on her Instagram story after the fight, Trundle's partner Sophie wrote: "So proud of you, babe and all the hard work you've put in these past weeks! I love you so much."