Sam Hickey is starting to get used to hearing what would once have sounded preposterous to him: being mentioned in the same breath as one of the all-time greats of Scottish boxing, Dick McTaggart.
Hickey, like McTaggart, is a Dundonian, and with every major tournament the 22-year-old edges closer to the medal record of his predecessor.
Hickey’s Commonwealth gold medal in Birmingham in August emulated McTaggart’s achievement back in 1958 and, to this day, McTaggart remains one of the greatest and most successful boxers this country has ever produced.
It would, then, be easy for Hickey to get ahead of himself, such is the hype in his home city about his prospects – Hickey was awarded a civic reception in Dundee following his victory at Birmingham 2022 – but the 22-year-old is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“The Dundee people were so supportive in comparing me to Dick McTaggart and I was thinking, ‘If I do half of what Dick did, I’ll be pretty happy’. He achieved so much so it’s great to be compared in any way to him,” the middleweight says.
“It doesn’t feel like a pressure being compared to Dick – at the end of the day, I’m not him, I’m my own person. So far, I’m happy with what I’ve done, so now I just need to keep going and achieve more.
“I got a message from someone who’d been speaking to Dick and he said Dick watched me at the Commonwealth Games and was supporting me. I met Dick when I was a kid, about 10 years ago – he used to come to all the boxing shows in Dundee and everyone was trying to get pictures with him.”
Immediately following his return from Birmingham, Hickey enjoyed a well-earned break after a season that had seen him become the first Scot for 16 years to win a medal at the European Championships to go with his Commonwealth feat. And while several of his Team Scotland squad mates have turned professional in the weeks and months following Birmingham 2022, Hickey had little doubt he would remain in the amateur ranks for the foreseeable future, for one significant reason: the Olympic Games.
Hickey recently returned to training with the GB squad in Sheffield with Paris 2024 at the forefront of his mind, but his immediate focus has been on something rarely associated with boxers: gaining weight.
The somewhat surprising news that middleweight has been dropped from the Olympic programme for 2024 has forced Hickey to move up to light heavyweight, and while the move up isn’t necessarily of his choosing, he is confident that the difference of 5kg to his fighting weight will work in his favour.
“It was getting more difficult to make middleweight, and so now I’m completely focused on moving up,” he says. “I’m not bothered who I’ll face at light heavyweight and, actually, I see it as a positive for me because of my speed. My footwork is a big advantage of mine so I’ll hopefully be able to move around them. But all the other guys at middleweight are moving up too so you never know, we might all take over light heavyweight, we’ll just have to see.
“And with Christmas coming up, I’m looking forward to being able to eat whatever food I want – I’ll stay in the gym though because I like having a focus, Without that focus it’s easy to go AWOL.”
As the Olympics approach, Hickey retains the ambition of following in McTaggart’s footsteps.
McTaggart won Olympic gold in 1956, as well as bronze in 1960, and remains the last Scottish boxer to grace an Olympic podium. Hickey, though, has every intention of changing that come Paris.
“The Commonwealth Games medal was brilliant but I want more than that, I want an Olympic medal too,” he says.
“The gold medal at the Commonwealth Games has given me real confidence. In 10, 12 years when I finish boxing having done well in the pros, if I hadn’t waited 18 months or so to give myself the chance of winning an Olympic medal, I’d kick myself.”
Hickey will start the year with a training camp in America but he admits he’s already champing at the bit to get back into the ring for some competitive action.
While the Olympic Games are
the major goal in the next 18 months, Hickey has no intention
of taking things easy this year, with both the European Championships and the World Championships presenting an excellent chance for the Dundonian to add further silverware to his collection, which
is an opportunity he has no intention of spurning.
“Hopefully, the weight gain goes well and I can get fighting in March,” he says. There’s a few big ones in 2023 so I’m excited.
“It’s good for me to have this break from tournaments so that by the time I next fight, I’ll be desperate to get out there.
“Now, I’m just looking forward to seeing what 2023 brings – hopefully it’s another year full of medals.”
