FORMER Southend United goalkeeper Cameron Belford is stepping up the fight against mental health by stepping into the boxing ring this weekend.

Belford, who made 20 appearances for Blues back in 2012, will be pulling on a different kind of gloves on Saturday night.

And the shot-stopper will be doing so to raise funds for the mental health charity Mind.

“This gives me an opportunity to raise money for the Mind charity and to raise awareness too,” said Belford.

“It will let people know there is support and advice out there for anyone experiencing any mental health problems.

“But boxing has always been something I’ve had an interest in too.”

However, Belford – who now plays for Radcliffe - had not been able to act on that interest until now.

“Obviously with me playing football professionally for the majority of my career it was something I was never allowed to do,” said Belford.

“But now with me playing part time it has given me a little more leeway in terms of being able to do it.

“I saw an advert for white collar fighting on Facebook and I thought why not?

“They got back to me within a matter of days to say I'd been accepted and here we are.”

The fight will take place at a sold-out Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Trafford Park.

And Belford has prepared properly for the bout.

“Preparations have gone really well,” said the 32-year-old.

“It's been two sessions a week for the last eight weeks and I've really enjoyed it.

“I've not only felt the benefits physically but also mentally and it’s been a real eye opener in terms of how hard the training is and how mentally tough you have to be.

“I've been in a boxing gym on a couple of occasions throughout my career when certain managers have taken us to boxing gyms for pre- season training but I've never been in a boxing ring until now so it will certainly be a new experience for me.”

And Belford will be fighting Ryan Benson, an opponent from the same fight camp.

“My opponent was chosen from the same programme,” said Belford.

“It’s been difficult with training because of the covid restrictions that were in place at the start of the camp so we were split into different groups and had to train separately.

“I didn't actually know who my opponent was until the week before the fight.

“But tickets have sold out now so quite the atmosphere is to be expected.”

However, Belford is already used to physical confrontation.

And he still has a metal plate in his cheek from a serious injury he suffered after a collision with Southend striker Barry Corr when lining up for Bury back in 2010.

“I obviously remember the incident very well,” said Belford.

“Hopefully the metal plate I have in my cheek will cushion the blow a little when I get hit in the face come fight night.”

But Belford’s main goal is to ensure people continue to speak out about their mental health.

“It’s massively important and I think more and more people are actually starting to talk about mental health,” said Belford.

“It’s becoming less of a stigma then it was years ago but there's still a lot of work to be done and the message of "it’s OK not to be OK " is a message that everyone should be comfortable with.

“One in four people in every given year suffer from a mental health condition and the greatest cause of death of men under the age of 35 is suicide so having someone to talk to and to be providing with support and advice from these charities literally is a life saver.”

Following his fight, Belford will again be focusing on football.

And the goalkeeper looks back on his spell with the Shrimpers with great fondness.

“I have nothing but fond memories of my time at Southend and I have a lot of admiration for the club and the people of Southend," said Belford.

"My only single regret in football is turning down the opportunity to return to Southend when Paul Smith got injured but I suppose that paved the way for Daniel Bentley and he's gone on to have a fantastic career.

But Belford still keeps an eye on the Shrimpers and was sad to see them relegated last season.

"It's hard to see the club in the position they are now," said Belford.

"During my time we just missed out on promotion to League One and now it's in the National League.

"Having played in the National League myself, I know it's a very tough league to get out of and there's a lot of big ex League clubs in there so it's not going to be a easy ride.

"But I'm sure if the club can unite again, on and off the field, then I fully expect Southend to be right up there at the end of the season and I'll certainly be looking out for there results.

"Who knows, we may draw Southend in the cup this year with Radcliffe, which for me would be a dream."

To sponsor Cameron in his fight, click here.