But despite an impressive seventh round knockout in his most recent outing, the Scot was distinctly less impressed by his own performance than many of his followers. And despite the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Hickey’s win over Brad Axe in Dublin in August, the middleweight believes he’s still got far better performances in him.
“I feel like I’m actually a lot better than what I showed in that fight – everybody was saying it was really good but, in my opinion, I’m a lot better than that,” Hickey says.
“It was a good finish though, and a good finish makes up for the not as good performance. And it’s encouraging to think I can still box a lot better.
“I’m still developing as a professional. I learned a lot in the gym in my first year and a half as a pro but I’m still working on being relaxed, punching at the right time and trying not to race through things. It’s just about drilling everything in the gym and it’s coming on.”
Hickey will soon have the chance to prove that he is, in fact, better than he showed earlier this summer when he faces his toughest opponent yet as a professional.
Next Saturday, on the undercard of the Shane Mosley Jr v Denzel Bentley fight, Hickey will face the experienced Englishman, Troy Coleman, at London’s Copper Box Arena.
31-year-old Coleman has won 15 of his 21 fights but Hickey is in little doubt that, despite the step up in class that he’s likely to encounter next weekend, he will record his seventh professional win.
“Coleman is an experienced pro and he’s been in with some decent names in middleweight, so this is a good fight for me,” Hickey says.
“He’s upset the odds a couple of times, so it won’t be easy, but I need to just do what I do and the result will take care of itself.
“It’s about me being composed over the eight rounds and breaking him down. If he comes to fight, there’s every opportunity that I could finish it but also, if it goes eight rounds then that’s fine too.”
Sam Hickey fights next weekend (Image: Zuffa Boxing via Getty Images)
Hickey is now just over two years into his professional career. Having been a top-level amateur – he won Commonwealth Games gold and European Championship bronze – the Scot moved into the professional ranks with lofty expectations.
His professional career had something of a slow start, with only four fights in his first two-and-a-half years. However, having signed with Zuffa Boxing, the promotional company founded by UFC supremo, Dana White, things have picked up for Hickey, with next weekend’s bout his third in only five months.
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Having also caught the eye of broadcasters, Sky Sports and Paramount, there’s considerable attention upon the Dundonian despite him still being in the fledgling stages of his professional career. However, he remains unfazed by the pressure that comes with this attention and indeed, he’s relishing the chance to gain valuable experience of being in the spotlight which he will, he hopes, be able to put to good use when he edges closer to his stated aim of fighting for world titles.
“When I turned pro, things were quite slow to start off with but recently, Sky has taken a liking to me and with Zuffa signing me, it’s going really well,” he says.
“The pro game is very different to the amateurs – you’ve got stuff going on in the background all the time and when I first turned pro, that really frustrated me. But now I’m getting used to it.
“The attention does feel like a bit of pressure, and my fights are getting shown all over the world already, which is pretty mad. My dad was on holiday in New York recently and somebody mentioned a kid from Scotland who’s doing really well – “the guy Hickey, who’s knocking guys out”. And my dad was like, that’s my son. So that was pretty crazy.
“Not everybody’s cut out for the pressure of professional boxing. But at the moment, what I’m doing, being on the undercard of big shows is only going to stand me in good stead for when it’s my time to headline big shows myself.”
Hickey is displaying admirable patience when it comes to chasing belts. But there’s little doubt that he hasn’t, for one second, taken his eye off his ultimate goal, which is a world title fight. And while a fight for a major belt remains a little further down the line, Hickey admits he always has that target in the back of his mind and so he must make sure there’s no slip-ups as he pursues title fights.
“I feel like the titles will come and I always have one eye on the bigger picture. But, at the same time, it’s important to stay focused on the task on hand, which for now is the November 7th fight,” he says.
“I’m in this for the long game and if it takes a few more fights before I’m fighting for a title, then so be it.
“There’s a lot of politics involved in pro boxing so I’m not fixating on fighting for a certain belt or a certain opponent, because these things take care of themselves. My focus is just to get in the ring and do a job next weekend.”
Zuffa Boxing returns to London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday, November 7, with an all-British cruiserweight main event, as former world champion Chris Billam-Smith faces Olympian Chev Clarke. Meanwhile, Scottish boxers Sam Hickey and Connal McDonald will both fight on a packed card.
Tickets are available to purchase via: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/3500653DD09ED1FA?did=ukzuffapre