Skye Nicolson has hit back at comments from her upcoming opponent Tiara Brown that she has been “spoon-fed” her opportunities as a professional.

Nicolson made the switch to the paid ranks in 2022 after a successful amateur career that included a Commonwealth Games gold medal, world championship bronze, and qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games. Off the back of her accolades, Nicolson signed with leading women’s boxing promotional outfit, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

Matchroom has invested heavily in Nicolson since her debut in 2022, displaying the young star on some of the biggest shows around the world. Nicolson worked her way into position to become the mandatory challenger for Amanda Serrano’s WBC featherweight title, but the pound-for-pound star chose to vacate the belt. Serrano released a statement at the time explaining she vacated the belt because the WBC would not sanction 12-round women’s fights with three minutes per round.

Nicolson was then elevated to full champion by the WBC. This has led to some of her rivals, including this Saturday’s opponent, Brown, to accuse the Australian of being handed her belt. Nicolson disagrees with this narrative and insists no matter what opportunities are presented to her, she still has to take them.

“Yeah, I think Tiara [Brown] has created this narrative in her head, that everything has just been handed to me on a silver platter,” Nicolson told BoxingScene. “I haven't had to work hard, I haven't had to earn anything that I've gone and achieved, but you can be blessed, you can be lucky in what opportunities are presented, but you still have to do the work, you still have to win the fights. I've still not been touched, no one's come close, and it's like, you can't be spoon fed that, I'm sorry, but you can't.

“I've fought the best girls in the division, I've been banging on [Amanda] Serrano's door for two years. You can't tell me I'm being spoon fed, I mean you can tell me, but it means nothing, it's your opinion. I think she has a bit of a ‘Why always me?’ attitude towards life. I think she thinks she's had to do everything the hard way, and I'm just this spoiled girl who's just waltzed around, not worked hard, not had to do anything, not had to sacrifice anything, to just be handed all of these accolades on a plate. It's like, no, I've been doing this for more than half my life, I train very hard.”

Nicolson is not only seen in the ring during fight nights on DAZN, but recently she has been involved in the broadcast team for events. These opportunities have helped Nicolson gain exposure and become one of the leading figures in women’s boxing. The Australian insists she has earned these opportunities through the work she has done outside of the ring.

“I've put myself in positions to make sure that I get the opportunities that I've worked for, and I think that's something that people miss,” she said. “They see me all the time, I'm at all the events, I'm this, I'm that, and they think, ‘Oh Skye's there again,’ yeah, I put myself there, I'm making sure I'm constantly in the eye of the boxing world, and it's draining. There's so many fighters that have this same attitude as Tiara, it's like, but you don't show up to the media days, you don't do the interviews, when you're walking out the venue and you're tired, and someone calls you and says, ‘Oh, can we quickly do five more minutes,’ I do it every single time.

“I'm constantly working hard out of the gym to make sure that I'm constantly growing my profile,” she continued. “Making sure that I'm staying relevant, making sure I'm constantly posting on social media, and keeping people updated on what's going on in my life, in my career, and if that's me being spoon-fed, then keep feeding me with a spoon, like, honestly.”