Skye Nicolson marked her move to super bantamweight by stopping Urvashi Singh of India in two rounds at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, Australia.
It was in March when she unexpectedly sacrificed her WBC featherweight title by losing for the first time as a professional, via split decision to America’s Tiara Brown, and little over a month after returning from that defeat to stop Bolivia’s Carla Camila Campos Gonzales, she made a statement of her potential at 122lbs.
Nicolson, 29, had already made an encouraging start when in the second round she uncovered the limits of the 30-year-old Singh’s ambition.
A left to the body hurt Singh, contributing to her retreating and turning her back, at which point Nicolson capitalised on her unwillingness to defend herself by throwing a combination that meant the Indian taking a knee and being counted out by the referee Paul Tapley. Before the official’s count reached 10 Singh shook her head to indicate she had no desire to fight on. The stoppage was timed at 83 seconds of the second round.
“I was hoping I was going to get a little bit more ring time this time,” Nicolson, of Brisbane, told DAZN. “But I’ve got that body shot off a few times in sparring so the girls, back in England, definitely know that shot. They’ve been calling me to get that shot off in fights for a while. It was nice to get that shot off. I was just getting started – I was having fun – but it is what it is. That’s boxing, I guess.
“I think I might be a puncher at 122, you know? I feel great at this weight. I think I’m where I’m supposed to be now. But that also being said, like I’ve said this whole time, I want to get my belt back at 126.
“Tiara Brown, you’ve got what I want. I’m coming back for it. The 122 division’s busy; I’m ready to take over the world; 122; 126; anyone can have it.”
Nicolson’s fellow Australian Leah Reuben had by then defeated Jittamat Phomta of Thailand in the seventh of eight scheduled rounds, also at super bantamweight.
There were also victories, on the undercard of Jake Wyllie-Youssef Dib, for the heavyweight Alex Leapai Jnr in the first round of his all-Australian contest with Tom Ngapti, Thailand’s Jimmie Phusomsai via a four-round decision over Australian welterweight Patrick Clarke, and for the middleweight Riley Allen of New Zealand – also via a four-round decision – over Australia’s Laphya Reuben.
Cassidy Thornberry, the Australian making his professional debut at welterweight against Surachet Tongmala, stopped his Thai opponent after only 113 seconds.
