GB Boxing confirms departure of male trio

GB Boxing can confirm that 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Sam Hickey and Lewis Williams have left the World Class Programme (WCP) for boxing.  They are part of a trio of boxers leaving the GB Boxing squad, along with Hamza Mehmood.

Rob McCracken said: “We would like to thank all three boxers for the service they have given to GB Boxing and we wish them all every success in their future careers and everything else they go on to do.”

Leamington Spa’s Lewis Williams won gold in the heavyweight (92kg) division at Birmingham 2022 as well as earning bronze at the European Championships in the saw year.

Lewis also competed in the first Olympic qualifier in June 2023 at the European Games, where he missed out on qualification.

Bad luck with injuries and illness then meant he was not in contention to compete at the second Olympic qualifier in Italy in March 2024, where his teammate Pat Brown met the qualification standard to secure the Team GB heavyweight slot at Paris 2024.

Sam Hickey won a gold medal at Birmingham 2022 when he defeated Australia’s Callum Peters in the middleweight (75kg) final.

The Scot also earned a bronze medal at both the U22 and senior European Championships in 2022.

A change to the weight categories for Paris 2024 meant that his usual fight weight was removed from the Olympic programme and therefore prevented him from being selected for the 2024 Olympic qualifying events.

 Flyweight (51kg) Hamza Mahmood joined the GB Boxing squad in 2021 after winning the England Boxing National Amateur Championships in April 2019.  He went on to win series of international medals for GB Boxing at tournaments including the Leszek tournament in Poland and the Golden Gong in Macedonia in 2021 and 2022.