Skye Nicolson, Rhiannon Dixon & Chloe Watson: One Stable Three Future World Champions

Skye Nicolson, Rhiannon Dixon & Chloe Watson: One Stable Three Future World Champions

Paul Ready and his STN Sports female roster already have one world champion in their flourishing stable of fighters. By the end of 2024, there is every chance Sandy Ryan will not be the only world champion Ready has at his disposal.

Skye Nicolson, Rhiannon Dixon, and Chloe Watson all look more than capable of emulating Ryan and being crowned a world champion at some point in the next twelve months. All three are unbeaten and have the look of reaching the pinnacle of their sport at some point in 2024. The only question might be, is who gets there first.

Rhiannon Dixon:

Rhiannon Dixon has no amateur pedigree. A career born out of the White Collar scene, Dixon shouldn’t be anywhere near a crack at a world title. But she just might be only one or two fights away from doing exactly that.

2023 has seen the former pharmacist take her career to an entirely different level. Now unbeaten in nine fights, Dixon has added the Commonwealth and European lightweight titles to her resume this year. 2024 could be the year the unlikely story reaches the heights very few would have expected when Dixon turned professional in 2019.

The improvement has been startling, and there seems to be no end to her potential. Ready could have a real gem on his hands. A fighter who is improving with every fight, even now, she will take some beating, but give it another couple of fights it will take an exceptionally good fighter to beat her.

Last time out, Dixon claimed the European title with an emphatic victory over the former world title challenger Katharina Thanderz. A hard fight on paper was anything but in reality. Make no mistake, Dixon was seriously impressive in beating Thanderz.

The Warrington fighter will have to sit and wait to see when and if the world lightweight titles splinter in 2024. Katie Taylor currently holds all the lightweight baubles, but it is extremely doubtful if she can keep hold of all of them throughout 2024. Taylor is probably at the stage of her career where the mundane mandatory obligations will be of little interest to her. Dixon, with a couple more wins, will likely be in pole position to challenge for any titles that become vacant next year. From what we have seen so far, Dixon looks like a world champion in waiting.

“I saw a real rough diamond who could really punch. Rhiannon just needed to get her feet smoother in and out of range and build her self-belief that she belongs on a major platform and can win major titles. I am very proud of her and what she’s achieved in 2023, winning the Commonwealth and the European titles. The matchmaking with Anthony Crolla and Matchroom has been perfect since we linked up.” Paul Ready

Skye Nicolson:

Like her stablemate, Skye Nicolson is at the mercy of an undisputed world champion. Amanda Serrano holds everything at featherweight, and what she does will likely determine the immediate world title aspirations of the Australian.

Nicolson returns to action later this month for fight number nine against Lucy Wildheart in Dublin, and a win will almost certainly result in Nicolson fighting for a world title in her next fight. The only real issue is whether it will be against Serrano or, probably more likely, the vacant WBC title. If Serrano doesn’t soften her stance on only fighting 3-minute rounds in any of her future fights, the WBC would almost certainly declare their bauble vacant, with Nicolson already the mandatory challenger, getting the call to fight for her maiden world title.

The former Olympian has glided her way, almost untouched to eight wins since leaving the amateur scene behind. While her elusive backfoot style might not please everyone, it is, in truth, her best weapon. Nicolson is looking to fine-tune that style, but that process is about just adding to what she already has, rather than totally removing her biggest strength.

Nicolson faces her toughest test to date in Wildheart, a fight that seems perfect for what lies ahead. Nicolson hopes she will get the opportunity to test her unique skills against Serrano. The fight with the current world undisputed champion does have a lot of intrigue. I’m not saying that Nicolson will beat Serrano. But I can’t say with any degree of confidence that she won’t. Nicolson firmly believes that she will.

“I spotted Skye box in the Tokyo Olympics, missing out narrowly on a medal. I felt she had done enough to win. We spoke post-Olympics, and personality wise, we were very much on the same wave length. Skye is one of the hardest trainers I’ve ever seen, and she really wants to test herself at the highest level. She is much more aggressive offensively than you’ve seen, and this will be shown in fights to come.” Paul Ready

Chloe Watson:

Chloe Watson has probably gone under the radar in comparison to Nicolson and Dixon, but she is no less talented and 2024 is likely to be the year Watson comes into her own.

The Ricky Hatton-trained flyweight prospect will fight for the vacant European flyweight title early next month, and like her stablemates, she could very easily be challenging for world honours within the next twelve months. The shackles are likely to come off and her potential appears to be endless.

Watson is a joy to watch and has effortlessly won all her six professional fights so far since turning professional in 2021. The Birkenhead fighter looks like a real blue-chip prospect with a self-belief to match. A big domestic match-up with fellow unbeaten prospect Maisey-Rose Courtney would be some spectacle. Even more so, with a world title on the line.

“I’ve known Chloe for a few years on the boxing circuit, and I always was a big fan of her box-puncher style. Her power and shot selection are there for all to see. She’s like a mini Ricky Hatton. I can see how much Ricky & Blain have drilled her with certain combinations. Chloe is hugely popular in Liverpool, and I’m confident she will demonstrate she’s not only the best flyweight/super-flyweight in the U.K., but also capable of mixing it with the world’s best in years to come.” Paul Ready