Skye Nicolson wants to create boxing history with world title homecoming in Brisbane
Ahead of a historic world title shot on home soil, Olympian Skye Nicolson has revealed how she was inspired by the Matildas despite being on the other side of the globe.
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In January 2022, just months after suffering Olympic heartbreak, Skye Nicolson packed her bags and left Australia for the UK.
Risking it all, she faced an uncertain future, and didn’t know when or if she’d ever be back.
Two short years later, the 28-year-old boxer is now preparing to fight for the WBC featherweight world title against Sarah Mahfoud.
And she wants to bring the world title bout home to Brisbane.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a female world title fight in Australia, so to bring it to Brisbane would be a dream come true,” Nicolson told this masthead.
“It’s a huge opportunity for Australia, for Brisbane and for me.”
If it works out, Nicolson would join the likes of Tim Tszyu, Jeff Horn and Jai Opetaia, who have all fought for world titles in Queensland.
She’d be the first woman to do it though, and that’s something the 9-0 fighter says was inconceivable when she was rising through the ranks.
But after witnessing from afar the way Australia rallied around the Matildas during last year’s World Cup, Nicolson is inspired.
“It was so special to see the whole country get behind them, and I was watching from the UK saying, ‘I want that too’,” she said.
“It gave me goosebumps just knowing that Australia is finally stopping for women’s sport and for female athletes.
“It shows how quickly things can change, but we need to keep that momentum going while we’ve got the country supporting and backing women’s sport. Especially in male-dominated sports like football and boxing.”
A 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Nicolson’s rise has been a whirlwind.
She made her professional debut just eight weeks after moving to England, and fought six times in her first year in the paid ranks, which meant she was able to train full time from the outset.
She’s since fought on big cards in New York at Madison Square Garden, in Cardiff, Dublin, Tijuana and everywhere in between.
“I took a chance, packed my bags and moved to the other side of the world by myself,” she said. “I’d always lived at home, and travelled with the Australian team, so I really dived into the deep end head first.
“I have to pinch myself with how lucky and blessed I am. It’s been an incredible two years, and I’m so glad I took that plunge and made it happen.”
Despite the Paris Olympics approaching later in the year, Nicolson has no lingering regrets about the way her Tokyo Games ended.
Considered a medal favourite, she broke down in tears in the ring after losing a razor-thin split decision to Great Britain’s Karriss Artingsall in the quarter-finals in 2021. With a world title shot around the corner, she has no second thoughts about not heading to Paris.
She also has one eye on getting revenge against the 5-0 Artingsall at the highest level of all.
“It’s a fight I can see happening down the line,” she said. “That’s another way I could get closure.
“She’s taking her professional career slower than I am, but you can move quite quickly in women’s boxing, so it’s a fight I can definitely see happening.
“Especially if I’m world champion and it gives her an opportunity to fight for a world title.”
The skilful southpaw has stayed busy outside the ring too, working as a boxing pundit and commentator – sometimes on the same night as she fights.
“I was the first fight on the main card for the Katie Taylor-Chantelle Cameron rematch,” she said. “I fought at 7, and was working for the BBC on the live coverage of the main event a couple of hours later.
“I love doing both, and it’s setting me up for a career after boxing as well. I’m living the dream.”
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