He has become just the 15th Irish boxer to win gold at the European Championships, but 22-year-old Gabriel Dossen says he is struggling to grasp the enormity of his achievement.
With bantamweight Dylan Eagleson taking silver earlier in the day and the dust barely settled on Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O'Rourke’s recent gold medal wins at the World Championships, it marks an incredible fortnight for Irish amateur boxing.
What makes Dossen’s achievement all the more remarkable is that he was competing in his first senior tournament, and the fighter from the Olympic Boxing Club in Galway suffered setbacks through a cut in funding and a bout of Covid earlier this year.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dossen said it is hard to digest the victory so soon after the bout.
"I don’t think it has really kicked in yet that I’m European champion," he said. "It just feels like another win.
"My phone has blown up. It all feels so surreal."
The southpaw says the hard work really started in January when, after discussions with his coach Mike Mongan and his mother, he decided to put college and his second semester on hold to fully concentrate on the sport.
The Ivory Coast-born Dossen, whose father is originally from Liberia and his mother from Ethiopia, has been on the amateur radar for quite some time, winning back-to-back World and European Youth bronze medals in 2016 and 2017.
He won his first national Elite title in 2019 but later missed out on the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers with a knee injury.
The fighter decided to leave no stone unturned to realise his goal.
"Gabriel has always had the talent and always been hard working," says Mongan, who also coached Lisa O’Rourke to her world gold in what has been a huge two weeks for the club.
"Since he first came to us as a 15-year-old, there was always something there for him to tap into.
"For the last couple of years, between injuries and setbacks, I didn’t think he would reach his full potential. But now he’s there, he’s done it."
The work along the way laid down the foundations for his success.
"I went over to a camp in Italy and I sparred really well," Dossen added. "I had unreal spars with the world champions the weight above and weight below.
"I worked really hard, trained twice a day. I put myself down as a high performance athlete."
Dossen was confident from the off against Richardson in yesterday’s final, moving well and troubling the Englishman with his right jab.
Richardson finished strongly in search of the knockout that he needed, but the Irish fighter was far too canny to give up gold at that stage.
Reflecting on the performance, Dossen is of the opinion that very little has changed in his approach.
"I feel like I am the same boxer I was last year, not much has changed, but I’m getting decision, winning results and beating everyone."
And what next?
I do believe he can reach the Olympic Games in Paris. That has always been the goal
A guaranteed podium finish means he has secured a €25,000 grant from Sport Ireland next year, which should help him build for the Paris Olympics in 2024, though as things stand, there is no middleweight category in the Olympic programme.
Minor details as far as his coach Mongan is concerned.
"He’s a great young man," he says. "I do believe he can reach the Olympic Games in Paris. That has always been the goal.
"The sky is the limit."
