Skye Nicolson & The Chase For Amanda Serrano

Skye Nicolson & The Chase For Amanda Serrano

There is something that is quite refreshing about Skye Nicolson. The elusive style differs from most of her contemporaries. Boxing is an art, and Nicolson paints a different picture from the blood and approach that some of her rivals all too willingly apply. But it’s the attitude of how she wants to win a world title that makes her stand out. In an era of avoidance, Nicolson deserves praise for her continued pursuit of Amanda Serrano.

Serrano sits proudly at the top of the featherweight division and undoubtedly will one day grace the Hall of Fame. Serrano is the undisputed featherweight champion of the world for a reason. You could perhaps excuse any fighter who might want to sit and wait for the ageing process to take away at least a little bit of the magic that makes the Puerto Rican by far the best fighter at her weight. Serrano has only lost twice in her long career. And only once in the last thirteen years. And that defeat was to Katie Taylor. And even that was disputed.

You could also excuse any of her rivals waiting for Serrano to vacate or be stripped of one of her alphabet baubles. Without Serrano in the opposite corner, winning a world title you sense would be a whole lot easier. But Nicolson doesn’t want to pick up a world title with lesser meaning. She would prefer to test her skills against Serrano.

There will be many who will poor cold water on her chances against Serrano, who still seems like a fighter very much at her peak. But Nicolson should be applauded for wanting to test her skills against someone who is not only the widely accepted best fighter at featherweight but also one of the best pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet.

The betting line would almost certainly place Serrano as a hefty favourite going into any fight with the Australian. The argument could be made that at her best, Serrano would simply walk through Nicolson. But while that viewpoint certainly holds some credence, I don’t think we have seen the best possible version of Skye Nicolson. The timing of any fight between Serrano and Nicolson could be significant. Nicolson isn’t without hope.

As a professional, the former Olympian is still a work in progress. And with that slick style of hers that makes her incredibly difficult to hit, I think even now, it might not be as straightforward as some people might think. The former amateur star has suggested that her style is all wrong for Serrano. And it might just be exactly that. There is conviction and confidence in the words spoken by Nicolson. Does she know something many others don’t? Nicolson has long fancied the Serrano fight.

Nicolson has previously told FightPost, “A lot of people watch me from the outside, and they think I’m overrated and over-hyped. And then they fight me or spar, and then they think, ok, I get it now.” Nicolson has also been hard to match, and FightPost is aware of a number of world-level opponents who have turned down the opportunity to fight her. More than once, Nicolson has been left frustrated by potential high-profile fights falling through.

The Australian is no novice by any stretch of the imagination. The eight fights as a professional don’t tell the whole story. After that first amateur fight in 2008, Nicolson racked up over 150 bouts in the unpaid ranks and won a plethora of titles, including the Commonwealth crown in 2018 and she claimed a bronze medal in the World Championships two years earlier. Nicolson had dreams about winning Olympic medals, and she came agonisingly close to doing so in the Tokyo Olympics. Only a wafer-thin points defeat to Karriss Artingstall denied Nicolson an Olympic medal.

Nicolson turned pro soon after, and she has breezed through the majority of those eight fights. And the Australian is now perhaps only one fight away from her maiden world title opportunity.

The style is being tweaked, an acknowledgement that Nicolson knows she needs a little more to take on the likes of Serrano.

“I don’t just want to be known as a slick counterpuncher. I want to show I can fight at close range, that I can punch, I know I’ve got power. I don’t want to be seen as just a neat little boxer, I want to show I can be more than that,” Nicolson once told me.

Nicolson has already claimed the Commonwealth crown as a professional and last time out, she became the WBC Interim featherweight champion courtesy of a wide points decision in September over the tough Argentinian Sabrina Maribel Perez. You could see the evolution of Nicolson in that fight. She showed a little bit of everything in winning that Interim title, but still with one eye on not staying in the pocket too long and taking risks that she doesn’t have to. Some may critique too harshly about her perceived negativity, but her elusiveness is her biggest strength. Why give up your biggest weapon. Against someone as good as Serrano, that will almost certainly be her best route to victory.

Fight number nine will be before the end of the year, and early next year, Nicolson will almost certainly be fighting for the world title in her tenth fight. Nicolson will hope it’s Serrano in the opposite corner, and the undisputed world featherweight titles will be on the line also.

Serrano fights Danila Ramos later this month and will then search for her next opponent if as expected, she emerges victorious against Ramos. Katie Taylor and Alycia Baumgardner are possible much-talked-about options. But for different reasons, Serrano might have to look elsewhere. Nicolson could, quite easily, in many ways, be in the right place at the right time. And outside of Taylor and Baumgardner, a Serrano/Nicolson fight offers the most intrigue.

But if Serrano lands another fight and/or the WBC or any of the other alphabet organisations decide to strip Serrano, Nicolson will almost certainly get the call to fight for a vacant title. But make no mistake, Nicolson wants Serrano.