Ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers star set to make fighting debut | OneFootball

Former EFL journeyman striker Gary Madine is set to take to the ring for a hotly-anticipated boxing debut later this year

Former Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers striker Gary Madine is set to trade in his goalscoring boots for boxing gloves as he prepares to make an unexpected debut in the ring more than a year on from announcing the decision to retire.

The 35-year-old was famed for his physicality throughout a rags-to-riches footballing career spent primarily in the EFL, which took him from League One to the all-too-brief heights of the Premier League, and will now be looking to impose that when he steps into the ring later this year.

A litany of former EFL starlets have dipped their fists into boxing following retirement and Madine is the latest to follow suit, where he will be fighting at an event alongside numerous players who also featured at Championship and even top-flight level.

Ex-Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton Wanderers star Gary Madine set for boxing debut

Madine has largely stayed out of the limelight after confirming his retirement following just two appearances for National League North outfit Spennymoor Town, which makes the ex-forward's entrance to boxing all-the-more intriguing.

It has been revealed that Madine, who counts the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton Wanderers, Cardiff City and Sheffield United among his range of previous clubs, will be featuring at A Night To Remember III on October 22 in London.

Headed up by Pro Project Promotions, the fight will be contested at the high-end Mayfair-based JW Marriott Grosvenor House, with tables and sponsorship opportunities available to purchase ahead of the event.

For now, at least, it remains unclear who Madine will be fighting, although it's rather difficult to envy the man who ends up exchanging blows with the physically-imposing ex-striker.

The event will feature a glut of familiar faces to EFL fans, with the likes of Lee Cook, Simon Cox, Harlee Dean, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Nile Ranger already confirmed to be stepping into the ring - making for an interesting blend of former players and characters as some eye-catching bouts await.

Omar Bogle and Curtis Davies react to Gary Madine boxing news

While we do not know who Madine is set to be fighting against at this moment in time, whoever that ends up being could be in for a tough time locking fists with a former striker who stands at an imposing 6'3 and was notorious for his physical and aggressive edge throughout his playing days.

A classic EFL target-man, Madine often enjoyed dabbling with the dark arts on the pitch and, indeed, served five months behind bars of an initial 18-month jail sentence after being found guilty of causing actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm in two separate attacks in two Sheffield nightclubs while playing for the Owls in 2012.

Madine is not somebody who you would want to get on the wrong side of, then, and his former teammates can testify to that.

One ex-colleague took to the comments of the post confirming Madine's boxing bout in the form of Omar Bogle, who spent time playing with the hard-man attacker for Cardiff between 2018 and 2020. Bogle simply wrote: "All the best fighting him 😹😹👊🏾".

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Curtis Davies, meanwhile, never actually played alongside Madine, but was put through his paces when trying to defend against the towering striker when turning out for the likes of Hull City and Derby County in the Championship.

The ex-defender echoed a similar sentiment to Bogle, and is interested to see who Madine ends up fighting. Davies commented:" 👀 proper scrapper. Who’s he fighting 💩".

Gary Madine's mixed EFL career as boxing debut awaits

Madine's career was one of various trials and tribulations, with some clubs recalling fonder memories of the Gateshead native than others.

He rose up through the Carlisle United ranks and impressed at Brunton Park before earning a big move to Sheffield Wednesday.

Madine would fire the Owls back to the Championship with 18 goals in the 2011/12 campaign, although aforementioned legal issues would derail his time in the blue-and-white quarters of the Steel City and he eventually rediscovered a permanent home at Bolton following a number of loan spells away from the club.

His form for the Trotters in the first-half of the 2017/18 season caught the eye of Cardiff, prompting then-boss Neil Warnock to shell out a reported £6 million figure for the forward's services.

But while the Bluebirds would gain promotion to the Premier League that summer, Madine struggled for form and fell short of matching his price-tag, failing to score a single competitive goal from 28 appearances.

Madine briefly crossed the Steel City divide to help Chris Wilder's Sheffield United to promotion while on loan in 2019 before his contract at Cardiff was terminated by mutual consent less than a year later, allowing for a move to Blackpool.

The journeyman forward settled down at Bloomfield Road and would turn out for the Tangerines on 101 occasions prior to returning to the north-east with Hartlepool United in 2024, where he spent just one season and then made two appearances for Spennymoor before deciding to hang up his boots at the age of 34.