Scott Dixon: ‘I am very emotional. Inside this rough, tough exterior is a real man’

Boxing champion and now author Scott Dixon is the current holder of the WBU Super Middleweight World Champion. Back in 2004, Dixon was left with horrific injuries after he was attacked, leaving him unable to walk. Dixon was inspired by those events to pen ‘Super: The Road from Hell’, which detailed his road to recovery and his eventual comeback

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

Wake up. Pray at the edge of the bed. Shower and coffee.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Do as I say not as I do (Grandfather Toby Dixon, famous boxing coach).

What do you never leave the house without?

My morals intact.

Pick three words that describe yourself

Desire. Determine. Devotion.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Winning my second world title after being told I’ll never box again after my attack in 2004, but then in 2012 I regained the WBU super middleweight championship of the world in Malta.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Xeba’ sleep.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Be yourself and always follow your heart because you’re always right.

Property and cars aside what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

A Rolex Daytona watch when I won the Commonwealth championships in 2001. I spent £12,500.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

I wish I knew that overthinking and elaborating on a situation or problem won’t get you anywhere. And that patience is a virtue.

Who’s your inspiration?

My fiancé Damita, soon to be Dixon. She lifts me on a daily basis and taught me how to live again.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Learning how to walk again after my attack in 2004.

If you weren’t an athlete what would you be doing?

I would join the circus.       

Do you believe in God?  

With all my heart. Jesus came for the sick. God is great.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

My grandfather, my mentor, my trainer Toby Dixon, who passed away two years ago. My hero.

What’s your worst habit?

Not listening enough.

What are you like when you’re drunk?

Happy go lucky! But seldom happens.

Who would you have play you in a film?

Matthew Marsden.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lack of sensitivity to others.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

The Jam’s ‘Going Underground’.

What is your most treasured material possession?

My grandfather’s flat-cap.

What is your earliest memory?

Waiting for my grandfather to return home after work and throwing my boxing gloves – that he had bought me – down on the floor so he would spar in the living room.

When did you last cry, and why?

I am very emotional. Inside this rough, tough exterior is a real man (gentlemen cry).

Who would you most like to meet?

Queen Elizabeth of England.

What’s your favourite food?

Mince and potatoes, or ‘tatties and mince’ – Scottish national dish.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

Me. Super Scott Dixon.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

The Coliseum.

What book are you reading right now?

Super, the autobiography of Scott Dixon!

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

To heal other people like the Lord Jesus.

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Receive an MBE from the Queen of England.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Psycho Realm… hip hop.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

Frank Sinatra’s ‘It Was A Good Year’ (When I was 17…).