Thomas Dickson speaks to BBB ahead of his latest bout

Saturday night promises to be a big night in Paisley as Billy Joe Sauders makes the maiden defence of the WBO middleweight title he wrested from Andy Lee almost 1 year ago. It has been a long time coming, and has suffered countless delays, but the bout against Arthur Akavov is nearly upon us.

The night is huge for another boxer on the bill, but for many different reasons. Livingston’s Thomas Dickson lost his perfect record last time out, and while there is no shame for a prospect to lose to Jordan Ellison, Dickson is itching to get back in the ring and back to winning ways.

By coincidence, Ellison from Seaham in the North East of England, fights on the same night as he challenges Lewis Ritson for the vacant Northern Area Lightweight strap. Dickson though, remains focussed on his own task at hand and certainly isn’t dwelling on his first professional loss.

“[A boxer’s] first defeat is always going to be a tough one to take no matter what stage it happens at, but in a strange way it removes some of the pressure of protecting a perfect 0 doesn't it? We aren't all going to go on to be Floyd Mayweather or Joe Calzaghe!”

When asked about a training camp, a lot of boxers tend to go down the line of it being the best ever and being in optimum shape. Dickson was brutally honest in his own assessment of his preparation without ever sounding like making excuses. He had mentioned a recent bout of tonsillitis in a previous chat, so we asked him to elaborate.

“Yeah [I had tonsillitis] and was off a week or so but there is never a perfect camp ever. [There is] always something that could have been done more or less of and that's just life, just a case of keeping focused and keeping an eye on the end goal. Not focus on the struggle.”

With his next bout coming so soon after the previous one, Dickson is continuing his very active debut year.

“[It has] been fantastic. Seven fights in my first year, I can't complain to anyone about that. That's all down to good management and having the right team around me to make me want to stay in the gym”

Obviously fighters have an allegiance to their teams and handlers but with the MGM Scotland boxers, this seems entirely genuine, and understandably so.

“Mgm Scotland are fantastic, and I think the show they have lined up at the weekend proves that they are now the dominant figure in Scotland. And that's within the first 18 months so will just go from strength to strength. Sam [Kynoch] etc. do an amazing job and to be a part of shows this size so early on in my career truly is a blessing for which I'm grateful.”

We would like to extend our thanks to Thomas for answering our questions honestly and wish him the best for Saturday.

Thomas Dickson will be facing Ibrar Riyaz on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders vs Arthur Akakov for the WBO Middleweight World Title, at the Paisley Lagoon Leisure Centre, shown live on Boxnation.