“You do not have to fight”: Belfast documentary shows what a boxing club gives beyond the ring

A new short documentary filmed at Canal Boxing Club in Lisburn is reaching boxing clubs around the world with a simple message: the gym can help you fight for your mental health, even if you never climb through the ropes.

Cornered, by Belfast photographer and filmmaker Will Craig, follows Andy Burrows from Belfast, who uses boxing training to fend off his own mental health struggles. In the fifteen-minute film, Andy talks openly about how the training, the routine and above all the people at the club helped carry him through.

“Sometimes I don’t feel like I belong out here,” Andy says. “But when I cross that threshold, when I hear the door close, when I hear the bags being hit, when I hear the ring buzzer, I feel at home. I feel like I’ve got a place.”

He is clear that it isn’t about violence. “The majority of people who go to the majority of boxing clubs on planet Earth never climb through the ring, other than to maybe hit pads with their coach. You do not have to fight.”

Since its release on 27 September, Cornered has been sent by Boxing Canada to all its provincial associations and shared by clubs and federations across Ireland, the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The film is the second in Fending Off, a seven-part series about the different ways people find to keep poor mental health at bay. The first, The Weight of Listening, won the Audience Award for Best Irish Short Film at the Cinemagic Festival in Belfast this month.

Will Craig said: “There’s a huge boxing following in Ireland, but even if you’re not into boxing, anyone can go along to a club and use the training to help them. You don’t have to get in the ring, and you’ll meet a great bunch of people in there too.”

Andy puts it simply: “If somebody like me can do it, then anybody can do this. I’m not special. You don’t have to be special. You just have to be willing to try.”

Cornered is free to watch on YouTube: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://youtu.be/-_XdEaLeQ7g&source=gmail&ust=1792617920434000&sa=E

If you are struggling, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 116 123 across the island of Ireland, and Lifeline is on 0808 808 8000 in Northern Ireland.