If you are a boxer from Watford you will always be compared to Anthony Joshua but teenager Cameron Paul is solely focussed on keeping a low profile and letting his own success do the talking.

The 17-year-old boxer may be from the same area as the heavyweight champion of the world but that’s where the comparisons stop with Paul fighting in the flyweight, 52kg, category.

The Queen’s School pupil is currently moving up through the weight divisions following his gold medal at the EUBC European School Championships a few years ago and now has the National Championships in his sights next January.

Winning that competition will mean everything to Paul, who aspires to be like his boxing hero and world champion in three weight classes, Terence Crawford.

He said: “I won the European gold medal a couple of years back in Russia – I think that was my biggest achievement – it would have been light-fly, at junior level. I think more-so because no other English boy had done it before at my age-group.

“Of the 18 gold medals, 14 were won by Russians, so I was one of only four other countries to win a gold medal, so that was my biggest achievement.

“I think there’s about a 70kg weight difference between me and Joshua, so it’s not really that similar. I’m not high-profile – I’m known in my school, but I try and keep it on the low and just try and let the success do the talking.

“The national championships for my age-group are in January, so hopefully I’ll be able to win them.

“I’ve got a fight coming up in Ireland, and then I’m boxing for England next month in Wales, they’re just international duels, so they’re against champions of those countries. They’ll be tough fights but I’m ready for them.”

Paul was speaking at a SportsAid event where he helped lay on a boxing masterclass in the House of Commons as part of the charity’s new three-year partnership with GVC Holdings.

The partnership will see GVC, the multi-national sports betting and gaming group behind brands such as Ladbrokes and Coral, supporting 50 of the country’s brightest sporting prospects annually through SportsAid.

The collaboration forms part of a multi-million pound investment by GVC into grassroots, community and health projects. 

SportsAid, a charity which has helped fund the next generation of sporting stars for the last 40 years, has backed Paul since 2015 and the talented hitman admits he simply couldn’t compete without the support.

He said: “I’ve been part of SportsAid for nearly three-years now, and I think one of the biggest things that it’s helped with is my diet.

“Being a boxer it’s not easy – you can’t eat what you want, but the things you do eat always end up being more expensive.

“Also, my travel – I’m up and down the country all the time going to camps for England, and it’s not cheap.

“I just moved up to 52kg, which is flyweight. I’m comfortable in this weight, but I’m always growing, so I can’t really predict what I’ll end up as.”

GVC is proud to be championing the next generation of British athletes by providing them with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Please visit https://gvc-plc.com to find out more about the Group.