Boxing is a sport for many, but for Corrie Mustafa, it’s medicine.
After losing a fight earlier this year, the former Kings Langley student felt a fire ignite.
Corrie decided to use his defeat as a stepping stone for growth.
New coach Jonno Drew has overhauled his mindset, with honest coaching to help the boxer to listen, process, and push himself beyond limits.
Corrie said: “He’s made me 20 times more energetic, and I am a completely different person now.”
Training at JABxing in Bushey, a gym that he has described as his home, Corrie is surrounded by likeminded people.
Now, he is excited to step into the ring at Queen Mother Sports Centre in London for a fight against Bruno Matay on Saturday, November 1, with his new mindset in tow.
Family, friends, and supporters are travelling across the country such as from Ireland and Colchester to encourage him outside the ring.
Talking about the fight, Corrie told KINGSnews: “I’ve redefined myself. Mentally, I’m ready. Everything I do is for the long-term plan.”
Boxing isn’t just a personal journey for Corrie, who is using his experience with mental health as a way of highlighting the sport as a community lifeline.
He advocates passionately about children’s mental health and how the sport can help young people find discipline, stability and belonging in gyms, often helping to prevent mental health struggles.
He explained: “Champions sit next to kids who’ve never stepped in a gym. You’re all champions. Boxing gives them a sense of direction, a family, a future.
“A champion is someone who fails a million times and tries one more. That’s life. Boxing taught me resilience, focus, and purpose.”
As Corrie prepares to step once more into the ring, he’s ready to show how far he has come: “I’m unrecognisable. The fire is back, and I can’t wait to prove it.”
Follow his journey on Instagram at @coza_boxing.
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