From the Ring to the Streets: How Boxing Helps Steer Youth Away from Delinquency in Saint-Michel

‍Even before stepping into the gym, you can hear the shouts echoing through the stairwell. At the top of the stairs, the dull thud of punches landing on heavy bags and the rhythm of drills take over. It’s 6 p.m. at the corner of Bélanger Street and Saint-Michel Boulevard, and about thirty young people are training at The Corner boxing gym. Many of them are part of a special program.

Since the summer of 2025, the gym has become one of the anchor points of a program set up by the Saint-Michel Community Leisure Centre (LCSM), in partnership with professional boxer Abed El-Safadi. The goal? To offer an alternative to young people in the neighbourhood who are exposed to delinquency, by building on a very real interest in boxing.

“We had a lot of street fights,” says Ismaël Benyettou, a psychosocial worker and project coordinator at the LCSM. In the summer of 2025, several local youths were engaging in improvised boxing matches, without supervision. “For them, it was just for fun. But you don’t know how strong one or the other is. It can get out of hand,” he explains, between welcoming gestures as young people arrive at the gym, alone or in small groups.

The phenomenon worries residents and highlights the lack of structured activities after school hours. “After school, we were left with young people who could potentially hurt themselves,” he continues. Observing the situation, the LCSM team identified a possible lever: these adolescents’ strong interest in boxing.

Rather than trying to ban the fights, the centre chose to structure them. Local partners were approached. Among them was Abed El-Safadi, who was already involved in some LCSM activities promoting boxing, and who agreed to commit. The project Thinking Differently Through Culture and Sport was thus born.

A grassroots partnership with no miracle solution

The program is aimed at youth aged 12 to 21. Boxing is its sporting backbone, complemented by a cultural component focused on music through the LCSM’s La Station studio. “Our idea is to go with their interests, but also to offer them something else,” explains Ismaël Benyettou.

Fifteen young people are already enrolled, but on the evening of our visit, chance had it that six new participants were signed up by Ismaël, whom we met on site. “It spreads quickly through word of mouth,” he notes. Young people who aren’t enrolled end up wanting to join their friends. They are drawn as much by the boxing as by the group atmosphere.

Supervision requires a delicate balance. Some behaviours would not be tolerated in a strictly sporting context. “We’ve already had an incident where Abed caught some youths smoking cannabis downstairs,” Ismaël Benyettou illustrates. “If they had just been regular gym members, we would have told them not to come back. But here, we work together to keep them involved and re-engage them.”

Abed El-Safadi: passing things on without playing the saviour

Twenty-eight-year-old Abed El-Safadi was born in Montreal to Palestinian-Moroccan parents. A former professional boxer, he fought six pro bouts between 2018 and 2023. Injuries and the pandemic slowed his career, without breaking his bond with the ring.

During his recovery, he opened The Corner boxing gym with his partner, El Mostafa Lyousfi. “It was our turn to give back to the community,” he says. When the LCSM reached out, the idea immediately made sense. “My partner and I had been thinking for a while about how to help young people. It came at just the right time when Ismaël made the proposal and brought in kids from the neighbourhood.”

The gym hosts both competitive boxers and teenagers simply looking for an after-school activity. Youth enrolled through the LCSM benefit from very reduced fees, which also cover equipment. “The goal isn’t to make a profit, it’s to get them training,” Abed insists. The approach is clearly paying off, as enrolled youths develop a taste for training. “They feel like they’re in the best gym possible,” Ismaël Benyettou points out. “It motivates them to stay.”

“At least here, there’s a reason to be here”

Zakary Zouki, 19, arrived at The Corner by a different route. Before boxing, he discovered the joy of learning and making music through the LCSM’s offerings. “I found out about the La Station studio because a friend took me there. It pulled me out of my daily routine,” he recalls. At the time, he says, he was going in circles, without clear goals. “I was doing the same things over and over. I didn’t really have a purpose in life.”

For him, the boxing program is a continuation rather than a dramatic break. “I need to improve physically, to occupy my time. Here, it’s exercise, conditioning. A healthy body, a healthy mind.” He speaks little about his past difficulties, which he prefers to keep to himself, but he emphasizes the trust-based relationship with the Saint-Michel community centre team. “They were there for me during very difficult moments. They’re real people.”

For Rami, a business administration student at CEGEP, boxing came at a pivotal moment. At 16, he had run-ins with the justice system for car thefts. He could have sunk deeper into delinquency—a one-way trip. But when he was at a dead end, he was offered a helping hand. “We sat down with Ismaël, he helped me find solutions,” he says. Three years later, he describes himself as “clean.”

Since joining the program in November, Rami trains four or five times a week. “Either I’m here, or I’m at home doing nothing, or I’m out doing things that lead nowhere,” he continues. “At least here, there’s a reason to be here.” He also recalls his initial surprise: “We were paying a lot less, so we thought we’d be treated differently. But no. Everyone welcomed us.”

Like Rami, René is from Saint-Michel. He is currently completing community service hours imposed as part of a probation order. He prefers not to go into details. “I pleaded guilty to something,” he says simply. Since November, he has been coming to the gym almost daily. “Boxing calms me down. It puts me in harmony with society,” he confides, running his fingers through his hair pulled back into a ponytail.

His words sometimes come hesitantly, but the change is clear. “Before, I didn’t really take care of myself. Now I’m more focused on myself, on my lifestyle.” Even after finishing his community service hours, he plans to keep coming. “The people here are good people. You get attached quickly.”

Channeling without abandoning

For François Beaudoin, executive director of the LCSM, the project is part of a broader transformation of the organization. Active in the neighbourhood for over 25 years, the centre has recently rethought its mission around three pillars: seniors, families, and youth.

“I’ve been in Saint-Michel since I was six. I’ve seen the good sides, the less good, the worst,” he says. Faced with issues of violence, dropout, and marginalization, the goal is not to multiply one-off activities, but to ensure long-term follow-up, explains the director, who came by that evening to make sure things were running smoothly. “After three months, we don’t just drop them so they become statistics,” he argues.

The boxing component initially raised concerns. “People told us, ‘You’re taking them out of violence only to put them back into violence.’ That’s false. Boxing channels frustration in a safe environment,” Mr. Beaudoin explains, already seeing results that support his choice. The program also relies on professional resources: psychoeducators, sports psychology specialists, and institutional partnerships.

Ultimately, the idea is to empower the young people, even to integrate them as community workers. “They know the streets. With proper supervision, they can serve the community.”

A normal evening at the gym

Inside the gym, training continues. In the ring, Keoma Ali Al-Ahmadieh, ranked eighth in the world in the 60 kg category, works under the watchful eye of his coach, El Mostafa Lyousfi. A few metres away, neighbourhood teenagers repeat the same movements, corrected by former champions. That evening, among them, Rénald Boisvert, a well-known figure in Montreal boxing, also circulates. In this Saint-Michel gym, anonymous youths cross paths with local legends of the ring. Under the roof lingers that familiar boxing gym smell—a mix of sweat and leather—and a warm, good-natured atmosphere.

At the entrance, a giant screen broadcasts the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final. Morocco is on the field. Between drills, some stop and look up. With every dangerous play, shouts erupt. Then, at the final whistle, Morocco’s victory triggers an explosion of joy. Gloves drop for a moment. Training resumes. The evening goes on.

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