In March, 1822, Hickman, in company with Cy. Davis, set out on a sparring expedition to Bristol, where he was flatteringly received. A Bristol paper observed:—“On Thursday morning the sport at Tailors’ Hall was particularly good. In the evening upwards of four hundred persons met at the Assembly-room to witness the set-to between Hickman and the Champion (rather premature this), which enabled the amateurs to form a pretty correct notion of the manner in which the great battle was lost and won. The style of Neat exhibits the perfection of this noble science—it is the cautious, the skilful, the sublime. That of the Gas is the shifting, the showy, and the flowery style of boxing. The audience were highly gratified, and the sum received at the doors exceeded £120.” Another journal of the same city remarked that—“The puissant Neat and the lion-hearted Hickman, attended by that able tactician, Cy. Davis, with Santy Parsons and others of minor note, have, within these few days, been showing off in this city in good style. The benefits have been well attended, principally by Corinthians, for the tip was too high for other than well-blunted coves. The sums received at the doors are said to exceed £120. This is really good interest for their notes of hand.” Hickman had a bumper benefit at the Fives Court on Wednesday, May 8, 1822, and altogether the amusement was excellent. The principal attraction of the day was the set-to between the Gas and Neat. The former was determined to have “the best of it,” and he most certainly had “the best of it.” It is, however, equally true that Neat has no taste for sparring, and is not seen to advantage with the gloves on. The Gas was still a terrific opponent, and it was evident “the fight” had not been taken out of him. “Let those pugilists who meddle with him,” said an experienced amateur, “anything near his weight, beware of the consequences.” What sporting man connected with the ring, on viewing the Gas and Neat opposed to each other, could, in point of calculation, assert it was anything like a match between them; and Neat, with the most honourable and manly feeling on the subject, never did exult on the conquest he obtained over as brave a man as ever stripped to fight a prize battle.