Sam Hickey is ready to assert himself as the next marquee name in Scottish boxing as he seeks to follow in the world champion footsteps of Josh Taylor.
The undefeated Dundee man returns to the ring for his third professional fight on Saturday when he faces Harley Hodgetts on the undercard of Callum Simpson's European title clash against Ivan Zucco, live on Sky Sports.
Hickey has been tipped for the world stage after an impressive amateur career during which he won bronze at the European Championships followed by gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium looms as his latest stage on which to announce himself.
"It will give me a good opportunity to look good on the big stage," Hickey told Sky Sports.
"You see Nathaniel Collins and Lee McGregor fighting the other week, you've got people like myself who can come through, we can all do big things (for Scottish boxing).
"I think I'll definitely be one of the frontrunners. I definitely think I can do it, most people know it as well.
"It's building myself up, doing the right things at the right time. I'll be able to achieve these things, I've got a good team behind me."
A fascinating rivalry potentially beckons between Hickey and newly-turned English professional Lewis Richardson, who defeated the Scot in the semi-finals of the European championships before being stopped by eventual champion Hickey at the Commonwealth Games.
Hickey has started his professional career impressively with an opening points win over John Henry Mosquera last October followed by a first-round stoppage against Lewis Howells in January. With every round comes new experience, bolstered by the advice of former Olympic champion Galal Yafai.
"I was on fire that whole tournament, I showed a bit of everything," recalled Hickey. "I showed I've got something behind my shots, I've got skills, I can defend, I can move my head. You learn things you might not get away with in the pros. It's just about taking that through the levels.
"I'm looking forward to the journey, I need to enjoy it.
"It's going to get really hard. Galal Yafai told me to enjoy it, he said you'll hit people and they won't move, it can happen, so I'm learning from people like him.
"I prepare for the worst every single fight, you doubt yourself all the time, you put yourself through a lot in the gym so there's no reason I can't go out at the weekend and do what I did last time."
Hickey, who trains with Rob McCracken, produced an emphatic statement performance last time out when he coasted beyond Howells inside a round.
"The thing I was happy with in the last fight is I never rushed my work, even though I stopped him in the first round, I still picked my shots, broke him down.
"I want to do similar, I don't want to hurt them, run in and look rugged and rough, I want to look clinical.
"It came across well after the fight, everybody where I'm from was talking about it. The support that came down showed I'm not just a ticket seller, I'm promising I can maybe bring big nights up the road."
The popular Hickey is set to bring around 150 fans from Scotland to Saturday's fight night, and has plans to repay their support further down the line.
"I'm ready all the time, I've been in the gym all year, I just want to get out as much as possible and be active and get through the ranks as fast and as smart as I can," he continued.
"I want to follow people like Josh (Taylor) and do what they did. The main thing is getting experience and fighting in front of big crowds.
"Hopefully there's a good few people in the stadium when I fight on Saturday.
"I'd like to fight in Dundee at the start of mine and then Glasgow later on, when the time comes it will be good."
Watch Sam Hickey against Harley Hodgetts on the undercard of Callum Simpson's European title fight against Ivan Zucco at Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium this Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 7pm.
