Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ogogo has suffered a fractured eye socket after being forced to retire during his clash with Craig Cunningham on Saturday night.

Ogogo was the heavy favourite to win last weekend, as he tried to relaunch his career after a number of niggling injuries.

The middleweight was in trouble from the start but continued to fight on before Cunningham eventually handed him his first professional defeat.

Ogogo was forced to retire in the eighth round in Birmingham although a specialist has now claimed the injury could have been suffered before the Cunningham bout.

For now, the 27-year-old must go back to the drawing board and he admits it is a huge blow to his career ambitions.

He said in a statement: “Firstly, I would like to congratulate Craig Cunningham, his coach John Pegg and all of his team. They showed true class and I take nothing away from them.

Despite what is an incredibly difficult time for me it was a pleasure to box in Birmingham.

“After seeing an eye specialist today it turns out that I have fractured my eye socket in two places. Given this, my vision and balance were affected to the point that I had to be pulled out.

“This is obviously an incredibly tough time for me. I have overcome a lot of adversity previously and now face an uncertain time in terms of my eyesight with now another mountain to climb.

However, I am ready for the challenge and will be giving everything I have to get back in the ring and to achieve my full potential.”