NATTY Dodds is celebrating winning a silver medal at the Muay Thai World Championships.

The 19-year-old, from Southend, got the Great Britain call up after a series of impressive performances.

And Natty did not disappoint on the big occasion as he superbly worked his way to the final in Mexico, much to the delight of his father Spencer.

“It was fantastic for Natty to go there and make the final and we’re all so pleased with how well he did,” said Spencer.

“He was feeling confident about his chances before he went over but in Muay Thai I think you have to be if you’re going to have any chance of doing well at all.

“Of course Natty wanted to win but to make it as far as he did against so many top guys was a great achievement.”

Seventy eight countries sent their top stars to Cancun for the championships which saw 1,000 competitors taking part across the nine days.

Natty prepared for the event with an eight week intensive training camp at the Mungkorn Dam Thai Boxing Camp in Westcliff where he has trained for the past 11 years.

And his hard work was rewarded with a string of fine displays.

“Natty fought a Singapore fighter first and stopped his opponent in the third round,” said Spencer.

“After that he beat his Mexican opponents on points to put him in the semi-final against a Hungarian.

“He won that bout with a first round knock out and that put him through to the final while also guaranteeing him at least a silver medal.”

However, Natty was unable to see off a strong Russian opponent in the final.

“The Russian was very strong and very tall and had won it for the past two years but it was a very good contest,” said Spencer.

“The Russian won it on points but Natty did well against him and could definitely take positives from it despite being disappointed by the result.”

Natty was one of four GB fighters to fly out for the championships.

But he is now back in Southend, looking forward to his next fight.

“Natty is fighting again in August and his attention has turned towards that already,” said Spencer.

“He’s taken a lot of confidence from how well the World Championships went but he still wants to improve.

“He has big aspirations in the sport and he wants this to be just the start for him because he’s shown just what he can do against the very best in the sport.”