Skye Nicolson: “Fighting for a world title within six months is still the goal.”

Skye Nicolson: “Fighting for a world title within six months is still the goal.“

It’s difficult to gauge when a big-time prospect loses that tag and then suddenly morphs into a genuine world-title contender. Skye Nicolson is probably now at that juncture in her career. The Australian is only nine months and five fights into her professional career, but by the nature of her sport and in truth, the undoubted, and maybe even unlimited talent that she possesses, Nicolson has already outgrown the prospect label.

The former amateur standout put her still-burning Olympic ambitions on ice, to sign with Matchroom Boxing, and when the professional journey started in March, it quickly became apparent Eddie Hearn had got a rare special talent on his hands. With the hands-down approach, relying on reflexes, timing and impeccable distance control, Nicolson quickly stood out from the crowd. You could very easily and legitimately have called her the best prospect in the sport as she glided effortlessly to those five wins, and all but one of her opponents had a winning record. But as that impression-making first year ends, Nicolson will start the next one with big ambitions.

Nicolson was in Leeds earlier this month watching two fellow Australians trade insults and punches for the IBF world bantamweight title. Ebanie Bridges settled her feud with Shannon O’Connell in an empathic display of ferocity, and Nicolson was pleased with her friend’s victory and it was a fight that whetted her own appetite for the big nights that look set to come her way in the coming months:

“It does get me excited to be in those big fights, fighting for world titles, defending world titles,” Nicolson told me over Zoom. “And I think it is even more exciting when there is a bit of beef and a good build-up around the fight as well. You get to silence the haters, I was so happy for Ebanie,”

The last time we spoke Nicolson told me her intention was to move quickly and fight for a world title early next year, and despite the possible restrictions and complications in her natural featherweight division, that is still very much the plan:

“Fighting for a world title within six months is still the goal. We are fighting for another title in my next fight in February, and the plan is for my eighth fight to be for a world title. But at the moment it kind of depends on what happens with the belts. Amanda Serrano is fighting for undisputed in February, so I either have to make myself mandatory or wait until she decides what to do with the belts because if she goes undisputed she wants to have her rematch with Katie Taylor. So it depends on what Amanda does with the belts, can I fight for a vacant title. So we are kind of assessing the options as they present themselves and what opportunities will be there.”

If the featherweight belts are tied up for the foreseeable future Nicolson has options in and around the division in that search for her maiden world title. A possible move up to join the red-hot division of the super-featherweights is a mouth-watering prospect, albeit with similar problems she faces at featherweight, as is a move down to super-bantamweight. Even as those words were only halfway out of her mouth, my own thoughts turned to a possible fight with Ellie Scotney who will have her own world title fight early next year, and if she is victorious, a fight with Nicolson would be one for the boxing purists. A move down appears the more likely route, and Nicolson is confident the weight cut won’t be a problem for her:

“Alycia Baumgardner is looking to go undisputed as well, so that sort of ties up the belts at super-featherweight. Super-bantamweight we have talked about as a team if that is a more feasible option in terms of getting a title. It’s not something I am overly excited about but if that is somewhere where I can pick up my first world title and move on from there, it’s probably the best time to do it if I am going to move through the weights. I can do it, it’s another four pounds off what I have been doing. It can’t be a last-minute decision it has to be one that we make in advance. If we make that call in March for a fight in May, I can definitely do it.”

In October Nicolson returned home to win the inaugural Commonwealth title on points against Krystina Jacobs. On the outside, it looked like another hugely impressive performance from the former Olympian. But for Nicolson, despite the many plaudits she again received in her fifth outing as a professional, the failure to replicate the form she had demonstrated in training was of much frustration to her:

“I had a good camp, a really good camp. I had some amazing spars, lifting heavier in the gym. I felt so sharp in sparring bringing far more to those spars than I have ever done before. So I went into that fight feeling really confident that I could stop her. I was stopping my sparring partners. I couldn’t really pinpoint what I was not happy about with my performance. I am a really harsh critic of myself, but I was a little unimpressed with my performance. I didn’t sleep great the night before which is unlike me. I don’t know if it was being back home and dealing with all the expectations. People were asking me what round should I bet on, so maybe I went in with a little more expectations than I normally do. I am normally numb to all the outside noise and I probably took more of it in than I should have done. Little things like that might have affected my performance. I did watch it back and I was happy with some of the things I did but it’s frustrating because I know what I am capable of.”

Nicolson is a fighter in a rush in many ways. The chase for a world title is matched by the willingness to test herself against better opposition. Nicolson reeled off a list of names that would appeal to the masses and perhaps elevate her to another level, but all, for different reasons have said they don’t want the fight. Nicolson firmly believes when one of the elite in her division answers the call, that is when we will see the best version of her:

“I’ve said this all along, I fight better against better opponents. I want to fight better opponents. I want to show what I have been doing in the gym. I am sparring the best girls in the UK and then fighting girls at a much lower level and then performing not as well as I do in the gym and that is really frustrating for me.”

The unbeaten hopeful has looked like a fighter who has several more gears to show us in those five wins, and you sense that Nicolson wants to go into deeper waters and be put into uncomfortable positions to show another side to her game:

“That is part of the frustration. There hasn’t been a single second in my fights as a professional where I have gone I have to bite down now. I need to go out there and take this from her. I have not had that yet. I have been in cruise control, and I go back to the corner and we have a little joke. I know that is a good thing and some people will say you don’t want to be put in that position, but at the same time, I do.”

Like her friend Ebanie Bridges, Nicolson has left her old life behind and moved lock stock and barrel over to the UK. Nicolson is settled, has no signs of any homesickness, and is a fighter who seems to thrive in her life of much solitude. She has talked previously about the belief Eddie Hearn had in her when she decided to put her still outstanding Olympic dreams to one side, and turn professional.

It’s been some ride, even at these embryonic stages. But there is a real feeling Nicolson could be something very special. With the likes of Nicolson Caroline Dubois and others, the women’s side of the sport is in very safe hands.

But the fighter herself is content in the moment and very much looking forward to what lies ahead.

“It’s been the best year of my life. I don’t regret anything. It’s been amazing. I’ve boxed around the world, I have worked on the shows as well. I was really unsure about turning professional at first. I was really unsure of what I wanted to do. I had not even thought about the professional ranks and turning pro. For me, it was all about winning medals and the Olympic Games. But then Eddie sold me the dream and got me excited about something new. I feel like I am in a really good place and on the path that I need to be on and I think 2023 will be a really special amazing year.”