WITH his star on the rise, Tweed teenager Ethan Hartwig isn't pulling any punches in his quest to represent his country at the 2020 Olympic Games.

With a firm eye on Tokyo, Hartwig took a big step towards his dream at the Australian Boxing Championships in South Australia earlier this month, where he won the 80kg national junior under-17 title.

Hartwig defeated 2016 champion Kevin Large on a split points decision over three rounds after gaining selection into the championships via the Australian Trials in Brisbane in March, where he won the state 80kg junior title.

"I couldn't really believe it, it was a dream come true,” Hartwig said.

"I thought I might have lost the first round, but I knew that I'd won the next two. I thought I'd done enough to win.

"It started to sink in afterwards and it was a great moment.”

The title is recognised worldwide under the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and offers Hartwig a direct pathway to Olympics and Commonwealth Games' selection.

Becoming a state and national champion is no fluke for the Year 10 St Joseph's College student, who works as hard out of the ring as in it.

Hartwig shows a rare commitment to his craft and, after returning home from the championships late on a Sunday, he was back in training early on the Monday morning as part of his daily training regime.

Switching gyms, Hartwig's father Brad credits his son's move to Platinum Boxing Club in Nerang under the guidance of Olympic coach Chris Carden as a catalyst for his title run and all-round improvement.

"He's one of the best coaches in Australia; we had an opportunity to go there and Ethan grabbed it with both hands,” he said.

"Chris is very technical; he can spot the smallest flaw in a technique and he won't stop until it's fixed.”

Hartwig trains every day at the club under the watchful eye of Carden, and alongside the likes of professional supper-middleweight Rohan Murdock, junior Australian champion Michael Johnston and elite 48kg national women's champion Schinead Johnson.

"The atmosphere in the gym is more motivating and I'm training harder,” Hartwig said.

Jumping into the ring for sparring sessions with older fighters can be a bit daunting for a 15-year-old, but Brad said being in the company of top level boxers was priceless.

"To be the best, you surround yourself with the best and that's what Ethan wants, to get to the next level,” he said.

Hartwig would have automatically qualified for the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas in July, but he missed out by the age cut-off by six months.

While disappointing, Brad said his son wouldn't let it stand in the way of hitting the ring on the world stage, with international fights in the pipeline in the short-term future.

"The coach has a few options up his sleeve, but we're waiting to see what's out there,” he said.

"Maybe the United States later in the year, but we're just weighing up what's on the calendar.”

While there's still lots more to come, Hartwig has already achieved so much and is proud to represent a Tweed community, who has helped him reach the national summit.

"We set up a GoFundMe for Adelaide; a lot of local people threw money in, and we thank them for their local support,” Brad said.

"A lot of people put their hands in the pockets, which made it a lot easier for us and it was great to have that local support.”