England Boxing and GB Boxing pay tribute to former England Head Coach Kevin Hickey MBE

Together with GB Boxing, England Boxing would like to express their sincere condolences to the family of Kevin Hickey MBE who passed away recently.

Kevin played a large part in the development of Olympic-style boxing in Great Britain and spent many years at England Boxing, formerly known as the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA), where he served as the England ABA and Great Britain Head Boxing Coach at five Commonwealth and five Olympic Games from 1970 to 2000.

Kevin also went on to work as the Technical Director of the British Olympic Association (BOA) where he set up the Technical Department and established a range of ground-breaking support services for Olympic athletes, such as pre-Games Holding Camps.  He also served as Team GB’s Deputy Chef de Mission at three Summer and three Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In 2009 Kevin returned to boxing where he spent a short period as Performance Director of GB Boxing.  In this time, he was responsible for recruiting Rob McCracken and Richie Woodhall, to work with the squad as Coaching Consultants.

Rob and Richie had been part of England teams under Kevin in the 1980s.  Rob did not compete at an Olympics but went on to enjoy a distinguished career as a professional boxer, winning 33 of his 35 bouts and narrowly missing out on a world title. Richie secured a bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1998 and gold at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, before turning professional and going on to win the WBC Super Middleweight title in 1998.

Following Kevin’s departure in 2009, Rob McCracken took on the role of Performance Director, which he has held since. Richie continues to work with the GB Boxing squad for two-days per week as a consultant coach.

Rob McCracken said: “It was really sad to hear the news about Kevin and my thoughts are with his family and friends.  Kevin had a really a big impact on the sport of boxing in this country and did a lot of great work when he was at the ABA to help raise standards, particularly in coaching.  He was also a very good coach himself and, as a young boxer coming through the ranks, I always enjoyed working with him as part of the England team and feel he helped to improve me as a boxer.

“When he contacted me a few years ago and asked me to come and work with him at GB Boxing, I jumped at the chance.  It is thanks to Kevin that I have had the opportunity to work with the Olympic programme for well over 15 years now, so I am very grateful to him for everything he has done for the sport in this country and for me personally.”

Richie Woodhall added: “It was saddening to hear of the news of Kevin’s recent passing. I, like many others, hold him in the highest regard for what he gave to this sport during his lifetime. Not only do I consider him the best coach that ever trained me as an amateur boxer on a personal level, but I am also of the belief that he will be remembered as an iconic figure in boxing for impact he made in terms of coaching development and education in this country.

“What he achieved across five Olympics, where he won a medal at each games, is testament to his passion for the sport and his drive and desire to succeed. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”