Skye Nicolson is making good on her promise to remain active straight out the gate.
Her next ring appearance will add to an already historic night at Madison Square Garden.
The 2020 Olympic quarterfinalist for Australia is confirmed to next fight on the undercard of the April 30 DAZN show headlined by undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (20-0, 6KOs) and seven-division titlist Amanda Serrano (42-1-1, 30KOs). Nicolson (2-0, 0KOs) will face Shanecqua Paisley Davis (3-1, 0KOs) in a scheduled six-round featherweight contest in the final announced bout of the upcoming show.
Nicolson’s appearance serves as a watershed moment for her country, as she becomes the first Australian female to ever fight at MSG. The moment fittingly comes on a night when Taylor-Serrano serves as the first female fight to headline at the famed venue.
“It’s an honor for me to not only fight on this historic card but also to become one of the few Australians to fight at the Mecca of boxing Madison Square Garden and the first female,” Nicolson said of the fight, which was announced Friday afternoon. “This is a game changing moment for Women’s boxing and I’m so grateful for this opportunity to feature on this show.”
Davis has fought exclusively in her home state of Texas during her three-year pro career. The 31-year-old from Houston rebounded from her lone defeat with a four-round decision in her most recent fight last October in Sugar Land, Texas. All four pro fights have gone the distance for Davis to date, with Nicolson also going all six rounds in each of her two pro fights.
The latest assignment comes just two weeks after Nicolson’s most recent ring appearance, a six-round shutout of Bec Connolly on March 26 in Leeds, England. That fight took place three weeks following a successful pro debut for Nicolson, who outpointed unbeaten Jessica Juarez over six rounds in her opponent’s hometown of San Diego.
Nicolson’s pro debut this past March came more than seven months after her final amateur bout, a heartbreaking loss to eventual Olympic Silver medalist Karriss Artingstall in their Olympic featherweight quarterfinal last July 31 in Tokyo.
She set out an early career goal lo go at least 6-0 in 2022, and ending the year as an emerging featherweight contender.
“I am loving every moment of this journey,” Nicolson told BoxingScene. “I am looking for a very active 2022 to put myself in a position to fight for the featherweight world title in early 2023.”
Her most recently announced bout already places the 27-year-old prospect halfway to that goal, less than two months into her pro career.
“For me personally it will be three fights in eight weeks on both sides of the Atlantic,” notes Nicolson. “I feel like I’m improving every day and the opportunities that Matchroom and DAZN are giving me are helping me grow on my journey to become World champion.
“See you in NYC!”
Nicolson-Davis is one of three female fights on the April 30 show, two of which come with the undisputed crown at stake. In addition to Taylor-Serrano comes the undisputed super middleweight championship between unified titlists Franchon Crews Dezurn (7-1, 2KOs; 1NC) and unbeaten Elin Cederroos (8-0, 4KOs). Baltimore’s Crews-Dezurn puts her WBC/WBO belts at stake versus Sweden’s Cederroos, who puts her WBA/IBF belts on the line in their scheduled 10-round bout.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
