Boxing: England call up for Joe Crawford

Queensway ABC boxer Joe Crawford with head coach David Hodkinson

Joe Crawford, of Queensway ABC, has retained his place on the England boxing team.

A former GB silver medallist, Crawford won a place last year and retained his place this year after attending an induction and training day at the England and GB boxing headquarters in Sheffield.

Crawford made the switch from Sandygate ABC in his home town of Burnley 18 months ago, making the two-hour round trip three to four times a week to train with Queensway ABC located at the Full Contact Performance Centre in Rochdale.

Under the guidance and tutelage of head coach David Hodkinson, Crawford won the gold medal at the Hull International Box Cup in August 2017 beating the Scottish and English champions on successive days to claim his first title for the club.

A new training regime and change of boxing style has made Crawford a force to be reckoned with in the junior division, culminating with an invite to a rigorous training day trial at Bridlington ABC in North Yorkshire. After a hard and thorough assessment, Crawford received the news he and the club had been waiting for from England boxing that he had once again been awarded a place on the team.