Cassie Henderson: “I want to keep progressing and trying to get better.”

Cassie Henderson: “I want to keep progressing and trying to get better.”

Cassie Henderson had just returned from Germany. A fruitful visit that ended with Henderson coming home to County Armagh with her second European title. In December, Henderson beat the Ukrainian Vladyslava Nalyvaiko on points to claim U17 European honours. The victory over Nalyvaiko followed earlier wins in the tournament over fighters from Poland and Italy.

“It’s unbelievable,” the 16-year-old told me over Zoom. “It’s the best feeling in the world. There are no words to describe just how much it means to me.”

“I was nervous because I hadn’t been in the ring recently,” Henderson added. “I have been sparring away, but I hadn’t had a fight in a while.”

Henderson, a multi-time National champion, combines her highly promising boxing career with a life in Gaelic football. Two sports that require immense time and dedication. The Lurgan fighter attributes her success in two different fields to her inner circle.

“It’s humbling to have people around you who help and make it easier for me,” Henderson told me. “My boxing coach will communicate with my football coach. So it’s not me taking all that stress on, it’s kind of spread out.

“Both sports complement each other,” Henderson relayed to me. “I don’t think I would be half the boxer without Gaelic football, and the same the other way around. It’s the endurance. The running you do in Gaelic football is absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes boxers are part-time runners, so that takes away a lot of the heavy lifting. I don’t mind getting hurt, and I am used to all the combat. It makes boxing easier for me.”

It was her life in Gaelic football that promoted the initial introduction to boxing. “I started boxing when I was 12,” Henderson says. “The first time was just in the boxing gym’s fitness class. My dad said we are going to go just to get fitter for the Gaelic football, as I was coming up to play county, which was a lot higher level of football. So I thought I would give it a go just to get fit.”

Very quickly, Henderson got the taste of competitive action in her new sport. “It was just six months later when one of the coaches said, ‘Do you want to box in the All-Ireland semi-finals?’ I gave it a go, but I got beaten in my first fight. But that was the moment it all kicked started for me.”

Henderson believes boxing gives her resilience. “Boxing gives me a sense of not giving up. It’s a sport that is full of ups and downs. Some days you are the hammer, some days you are the nail. That’s what I always say. Sometimes you can get beat, and other days it’s great. You have to learn to be level-headed with it all.”

The sixteen-year-old is now twenty-seven fights into her boxing career. A resume that has only four defeats on it. Henderson will now be moving up to the U19 ranks and is targeting even more success at the 2026 World and European championships. The long-term aim is to compete in the 2032 Olympics. But for the immediate future, Henderson just wants to keep on improving. “I want to keep a steady trajectory. I want to keep progressing and trying to get better.”