ANTHONY OGOGO has been urged not to put personal pride ahead of his own development after signing a promotional deal with US-based promoters, Golden Boy.

The 24-year-old elected to turn professional after winning bronze for Team GB at last summer’s Olympic Games and is likely to make his professional debut on a show Stateside.

Golden Boy have yet to name Ogogo’s first opponent or announce where the Lowestoft middleweight’s training base will be, prior to the bout.

He could find himself training on the notoriously-tough US sparring circuit, a prospect that top British boxing pundit, Steve Bunce, has his reservations over.

“American boxing gyms are full of idiots who think it is great to see two kids beating each other up in front of a few dozen people,” said Bunce.

“That is an absolute waste of time and as a young boxer, you have got to learn slowly and gradually.

“Ricky Hatton admitted to being burnt out for the Manny Pacquiao fight after his training camp with Floyd Mayweather Snr, which was hard and brutal. I don’t want to see Anthony entering the ring for his first fight with two black eyes.

“One big fear is that they put him in different gyms around America – places like Philadelphia or South Central – where he would have to try and prove himself on a daily basis to be king of the ring. I wouldn’t want him to let his pride get in the way of his development.”

Golden Boy’s CEO, Richard Schaefer waxed lyrical about Ogogo’s prospects on revealing the deal at the end of last month, explaining Ogogo had “everything you look for in a boxer”.

He added: “He can fight, he has style and charisma and he has amazing crossover potential.

“I have no doubt that Anthony has the skills in the ring and the personality outside of it to make him a global boxing star. We are proud to have him on our team and this is just the first step in our growing commitment to British boxing.”

Bunce admits Ogogo’s decision to sign with the Americans would heighten his profile but hinted that the move may represent a gamble.

“The deal gets him a bit of profile and exposure but there is no guarantee he will be high up the bill (on Golden Boy’s shows),” said Bunce.

“Golden Boy have zero history in nurturing talent and they have never developed a fighter from scratch.

“They’re talking about launching in the UK and promoting here but they did that in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.”