YOUNG Werribee fighter Dawn Berryman has upgraded the state title she gained last year to become a national champion, and she’s still just 17-years-old.
The Hoppers Crossing Year 12 student was thrown into the elite women’s category due to a passport technicality, but the age and experience factor that weighed against her mattered little, as she again defeated Emily Jans to claim her latest gong in Adelaide earlier this month.
Her amazing run of form has coaches all over the country and even across the ditch turning heads, and Berryman herself admits she’s surprised with how well she’s going.
“I am actually pretty surprised – ecstatic, really,” Berryman said.
“It’s definitely gone fast but not when you’re training.
“It feels like your training for ages and there are no results but when the results come in, it’s all worth it and it pays off.”
Berryman went to Adelaide alongside father and part time trainer Shane, who has watched his daughter blossom into one of the best young talents the local boxing scene has come across in recent times.
“I was so proud of her, it was overwhelming,” he said of her national title.
“I knew she had it in her otherwise, I probably wouldn’t let her fight, really.
“She’s only barely started coming through the ropes, but she started at the bottom and she’s worked all her way to the top.”
Berryman recently joined forces with Tarneit Boxing Gym coach Dave Hegarty, who says the win is bound to open doors for a very bright future in the sport.
“She’s a 17-year-old girl and she’s fighting mature women who’ve been fighting for a while, so it’s a pretty big thing to win,” Hegarty said.
“For her to do that against more mature women, that’s good quality, and she’s a strong, strong girl.”
Hegarty believes Berryman has a gift for the sport, but Berryman prefers to credit her results with the work she puts in at the gym.
“I wouldn’t call it natural ability. I think it’s more the hard work I put in,” she said.
Though she was born in New Zealand Berryman has grown up in Australia, and now she says she has the confidence to believe she is capable of representing Australia at Commonwealth, and perhaps even Olympic level.
But until she gets her passport later this year, the focus for now will be combining her school work with her training schedule.
