Skye Nicolson: A New Beginning

Skye Nicolson: A New Beginning

Skye Nicolson will begin the next phase of her boxing career on July 5th in Manchester. In many ways, it is a new beginning.

Nicolson returns on the undercard of Jack Catterall Harlem Eubank, which takes place at the Manchester Arena live on DAZN. It will be Nicolson’s first fight since losing her unbeaten record and her WBC world featherweight title in March to the American Tiara Brown in her native Australia. Nicolson has stated her intention to drop down to super-bantamweight to win a world title in a second weight division. The fight in Manchester will be the first fight on the road to what Nicolson hopes will end with another world title around her waist.

The defeat to Brown that ended her world title reign was a shock to many. Nicolson was a big betting favourite to turn back the challenge of the unbeaten and vocal American. But Brown defied the odds to upset Nicolson on a split decision, and with Brown showing no immediate interest in fighting Nicolson again, it has prompted the Australian to seek new challenges at a new weight. “It’s a new challenge; a new weight division. It’s something to kind of set my mind on,” Nicolson said in May.

Nicolson lost her world featherweight title in her third defence. A fight of wafer-thin margins. The initial expectation was that Nicolson would get an immediate rematch, and it wouldn’t be that hard to imagine Nicolson making the required adjustments to turn the tables in the rematch. But while Nicolson still wants a second fight with Tiara Brown, with the American now going elsewhere, Nicolson has somewhat reluctantly moved on also.

Due to her elusive southpaw style, there is probably a perception of Nicolson that many form in their minds. But I remember her trainer, Eddie Lam, once telling me, “Don’t be fooled by how she looks. Believe me when I say Skye Nicolson is never happier than when she’s punching someone in the face.” Nicolson had over 150 amateur fights, a little statistic many forget. Her fighting pedigree can get lost to a certain degree.

The second chapter in her career begins in Manchester, and with the pain and frustration of that upset loss to Brown in Australia still lingering, it could be the making of her in some ways. Nicolson will know what went wrong in Australia in March, and she could return a better fighter as a result of that first professional defeat. Sometimes you do need a setback to realise that certain things need to be fixed. Too many fighters are written off when they lose. But at 29, Nicolson certainly shouldn’t be categorised like that. The Australian has got incredible self-belief in her abilities, and you sense one defeat won’t change that. If Skye Nicolson can make the weight and fight effectively at super-bantamweight, and with a few minor adjustments, there is every chance that she will indeed find success on the world stage in her new weight division.