never came back,” he said. “My friends are buzzing
that I’m fighting but, for me, there’s a bigger and
much deeper reason why I’m doing it. I need to do
it for a bit of self-peace.
“With time I understood it wasn’t boxing’s fault, it
was just life. It happens. Boxing is actually more of
a savior than anything. I feel like boxing saved my
own life with what’s happening now.”
Here’s what was supposed to happen on July 6 at
the Manchester Arena: Nathan Farrell, with Kieran
right by his side, was to find peace and prove a
point when making his professional boxing debut
seven years after vowing to never again set foot
inside a ring. However, the cancellation of this
event put a stop to that, leading to a shared and
familiar feeling of dejection, soothed only by a long-
held belief that things will turn out all right in the
end and that the end is something only they can
dictate.
Back in 2012, despite the horror, nothing
stopped, let alone ended. Things were merely put
on hold. Fights. Dreams. Lives.
And now both Farrells are all right, they can
resume. bnhttp://www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 4, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 27
couch watching Sky Sports News every day. You
think, ‘Is this it for me?’
“I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, and I don’t party.
I have never done any of that, even during my
struggles. Alcohol has never touched my lips.
“Sport is my life. That’s all I have in my life apart
from family and friends. Without sport, I don’t
believe my life has much meaning to it. So, for me
to get it all taken away from me turned my world
upside down.
“When I look back now, I don’t know how I got
through it. I had some really dark moments.”
Today, Nathan has absolved himself of all the
ill will he once had for boxing. He responded
emotionally at first, lashing out, before finding
much-needed solace in understanding. He
understood the nature of the injury and saw that
Kieran, the recipient, placed no blame at boxing’s
door. He then came to believe total forgiveness
would lie not only in his ability to make peace with
boxing but to somehow turn its negative, damaging
energies into positive, healing ones.
“I’ve rehabbed myself physically and mentally
and wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if INOW:
Nathan [right]
trains in the
gym alongside
his big brotherTHEN:
Kieran [left]
and Nathan as
youngsters