A Bishop Auckland teenager is following his dreams of a career in the ring after being selected to represent England.

Sixteen-year-old Joseph Dowson only pulled on the gloves for the first time after Covid, but is already delivering knockout performances.

And now the youngster, who is currently sitting his GCSEs, is heading to the European Junior Boxing Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina later this month to fight for England in the Junior Boys team.

Joseph’s dad Lee Dowson said: “He only started after Covid. He just did it for the exercise and then it developed from there.“

The Northern Echo: Joseph Dowson.Joseph Dowson. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“After a year’s training, he had his first fight and he’s since had 28.

“He’s won three national titles in a row, he has won a gold medal at the last three national championships. He’s also been on the England boxing development pathway for the last three years.

“He’ll now box in the Europeans.

“He’s down training with England every week.

“He’s probably not the most natural talent but he’s one of the most hard-working. He’s in the gym six days a week.”

Joseph will fly out to Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 19 ahead of the tournament which runs for two weeks between June 21 and July 3.

The Northern Echo: Joseph Dowson.Joseph Dowson. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

He has been sitting his GCSE exams for the last few weeks while still training five days a week.

To qualify Joseph took party firstly in club shows, where his gym welcomes other gyms to come and box, and then national championships boxing both regionally and nationally.

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Lee added: “When we were waiting to find out if he’d been selected we were checking emails every half hour.

“At the start of the season, his coach gave him a goal to go to the Europeans. Although it was a goal, we thought it would never happen. It’s just surreal really.

“I am going to fly out to watch him. We are so proud of what he has achieved. But we’re even more proud of what he does outside of the gym – he gets up in the morning before school to go for a run, he looks after his own diet.”