Boxing scene pays tribute to a legend
Protégés recall coachtoby Dixon’s influence
Tributes were this week paid to legendary boxing coach Toby Dixon, who passed away on Sunday, aged 87.
Toby was in the boxing game for decades, and one of his crowning achievements was to guide grandson Scott Dixon to Scottish and Commonwealth welterweight titles,and the WBU World super middleweight championship in 2012.
He also coached a number of up-and-coming boxers in his time, including Commonwealth Games gold medallist Charlie Flynn.
Toby started at Larkhall Welfare Amateur Boxing Club in 1948 before emigrating to Canada with wife Jean in 1963, boxing with Toronto Amateurs for five years.
The Dixons then returned to Scotland and Toby was with Valleyfield ABC in Fife.
He retired in 1973 and moved back to Larkhall Welfare ABC, before taking over at Hamilton, and moving to Newarthill in 2004.
Grandson Scott Dixon said: “He was a well-respected man and a legend. He took young kids and saved them from a life of deprivation, got them into the gym and off the streets.
“He was a very popular man in the area.
“He helped me to win a lot, including three world titles, and I’m a bit lost without him.
“He was a true gentleman, there are no other words to describe him. Family always came first with him. He was more than a boxer, he was a father, coach, mentor, and guided people who were lost along the way.
“He applied himself to everything, there was no problem too big for him.”
Charlie Flynn commented: “Toby was the nicest guy you could meet, he was dead good with all the weans.
“The first time I was in the gym I came home and said to my dad ‘that guy Mickey from Rocky was there.’ That’s the kind of guy he was, he was just like him.
“He lived for boxing, he was in the gym all the time and he was brilliant – I loved him.”
Boxing promoter and Fighting Scots Gym owner Francis Gilluley said: “Me and my father trained in Eddlewood with Toby over 25 years ago and I had kept in touch ever since.
“I knew Toby for a long time, he was a great guy and a total gentleman.
“Toby was well-known in the boxing industry and it’s a sad loss.”
He helped me to win a lot, including three world titles, and I’m a bit lost without him