Rio Ferdinand is taking a punt on his health with boxing venture as he admits 'injury is definitely something I've thought about'

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There was a feisty moment on Tuesday at York Hall when the grand old subject of money cropped up.

'Great question, you really lightened the mood with that one,' sneered the boxer to the journalist.

With that, he looked to the gambling exec in the next seat, one of the masterminds behind boxing's latest little romance.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is set to become a professional boxer

The former England international has signed up to Betfair's 'Defender to Contender' challenge

Ferdinand made his name as a Premier League footballer but he will be taking on a new sport

Since ending his illustrious football career, Ferdinand is a regular on TV screens as a pundit

There will be 'remuneration', it was explained, but the fighter's journey and particularly his health will be the 'No 1 priority for this challenge', said Barry Orr of Betfair. And he gave a solemn nod, flanked by other solemn nodders. A serious sporting enterprise, apparently, this branded trek undertaken by Rio Ferdinand from defender to contender.

And yet there was another sense, a lingering teaser that maybe boxing is about to drop its pants in public again; that this sport is hitting dangerously high mileage in its regular sideline gig as a lucrative publicity vehicle for outsiders.

But perhaps that would be an unkind interpretation of this dance between an ex- footballer and professional boxing, which was announced yesterday at a venue that has staged the best of them. Lennox Lewis, Chris Eubank, Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton, Anthony Joshua have all passed over those creaky floorboards.

Ferdinand was in good spirits as he spoke at York Hall following his shock announcement

Richie Woodhall, Ferdinand and Mel Deane pose for photographers on Tuesday afternoon

On this occasion, it was Ferdinand, a 38-year-old who talked a good fight but left you with the impression that someone closer to home ought to have given him a good talking to, someone who might have urged him to resist the invitation three months ago when the bookie suggested he takes a few punches to the head.

And that is a significant point in all this — the idea might well be better received if it was purely of Ferdinand's creation. Instead, it was the brainwave of some marketer that this globally known athlete would be good for bringing in punters if he got into this dangerous sport.

It remains to be seen how good it will be for Ferdinand, who said: 'Injury is definitely something I've thought about. But in all sports there is elements of danger. Obviously, football isn't that dangerous but you see footballers that have died on the pitch.

The British Board of Boxing Control would need to grant Ferdinand a licence for him to fight

Ferdinand held a press conference in east London to discuss his new venture

'I'm an armchair boxing fan and I want to show people what this sport is about. Physically and mentally I'm going to go to places I've never been. Can you wake up early in the morning when it's rainy and dark and go on those runs? Can you take those punches in training?'

Obviously a documentary crew will film his every bruise and moment of realisation. If it feels familiar that is because Andrew Flintoff did something extremely similar in 2012, with the declaration that he was entering professional boxing as a serious endeavour. The reality is he left the sport after a good documentary and one bad fight with an American novice. It was, to all actual purposes, a big step in Flintoff building what has become a successful television career.

For Ferdinand, who has been making his own way in television, the intentions of this venture were pretty confusing. In the morning came an arty promo video talking of his mission to aim for a 'belt' to add to the array of titles he won as a footballer.

Ferdinand will be trained by former WBC super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall

Ferdinand is an avid boxing fan and has some experience of the training that he will encounter

By the afternoon came a far more modest assessment of his goals, accepting that a four-round fight and others subsequently would only be finalised if he got through 10 to 12 weeks of training under former world champion Richie Woodhall. 'I am taking it stage by stage,' he said. 'To come in you have to have the respect of the sport first, so I won't say I am going to do X, Y and Z when I have so many hurdles to get over.'

Whatever this is, crass stunt or otherwise, one-off fight for a documentary or the start of something unexpected, it is actually easy to understand Ferdinand's motivation, largely because he paints the picture of a man with a void to fill in his life following his footballing retirement in 2015.

'I still miss that competitive edge and when you have that competitive chemical in your body you just need to keep it going,' he said. Always an eloquent man, that was nicely put, even if he did then admit he hasn't punched anyone since he was 'a kid in brown Henry Cooper gloves' on the Peckham estate.

The 38-year-old arrives ahead of the press conference dressed smartly to talk about his move

Journalists of both the boxing and football community assembled at York Hall on Tuesday

Ferdinand is expected to slot into the cruiserweight division, one below heavyweight

Perhaps the greatest drive in doing something this drastic is the tragedy of losing his wife to cancer two years ago. 'This is something for me to focus on,' he said. 'With grief and situations you encounter in life, you need to have a focus.

'My first focus was getting stuck into work and this is an extension of that. Having something to channel my aggression into, and the emotions that have arisen from the events of the past couple of years, this is a great platform,' Ferdinand added.

That is all understandable. And his three children are apparently all onside, offering the sole warning that he 'better not lose'.

But can he win? Can you ever win when the game is taking shots to a 38-year-old head to promote a bookie?