RING MASTER IN SPOTLIGHT Blantyre club recognises training champ Toby Dixon
Members of Priestfield Boxing Club, Blantyre, hosted an event in recognition of a renowned Lanarkshire trainer last weekend.
The club invited Toby Dixon, of Larkhall, along to a showcase event to witness a sparring session with some of their upcoming boxing talent before then presenting him with a crystal salver in recognition for his outstanding contribution to boxing across Lanarkshire.
Toby has been training boxers throughout Lanarkshire for over 60 years and is currently the president of the Scottish Boxing Hall of Fame. Now in his eighties, he still keeps active and coaches at Newarthill Boxing Club in Motherwell.
Gerry Higgins, of Priestfield Boxing Club, told the Advertiser this week: “Toby trained me when I was at Hamilton Boxing Club and I always had a great deal of respect for him.
“He’s a great coach and was always there dishing out advice and keeping us right. I am now a coach at Priestfield Boxing Club in Blantyre and thought that it would be a nice gesture to invite him along to our gym for a couple of hours, just to see what we do and to spend a little bit of time with him.
“We got him along on Saturday morning and he got a bit of a shock when he walked through the door to a round of applause from our boxers and coaches.
“He was delighted to watch some of our boxers in action, undertaking a session consisting of bag work, sparring, pad work and finishing with a circuit. And to make the day that little bit more special for Toby, we presented him with a crystal salver in recognition for his outstanding contribution to boxing in Lanarkshire.
“It was a great day and we were thrilled to have a boxing veteran such as Toby come along to Priestfield.”
Toby (87) is the grandfather of former boxing star Scott Dixon, and is currently Scotland’s oldest active coach.
He began his competitive career in 1948, with Larkhall Welfare Amateur Boxing Club, staying with them until he emigrated to Canada with wife Jean in 1963, where he boxed with Toronto amateurs for five years before returning to Scotland with Valleyfield ABC in Fife.
In 1973, he retired and moved back to Larkhall Welfare as a coach, training several amateur champions before taking over at Hamilton ABC.
But in 2004 he moved back to Newarthill, via a brief stint at Lesmahagow, and still actively coaches.
Toby held a professional trainers’ licence from 1995-2007 and one of his biggest achievements was guiding grandson and former professional Scott Dixon to Scottish and Commonwealth welterweight titles, as well as guiding Motherwell boxing champ Charlie Flynn to much success.
Sadly his wife Jean passed away in May of this year.