Skye Nicolson defeated Yuliahn Luna via a 10-round unanimous decision Saturday at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California, to win a WBC interim junior featherweight title.
The scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 in Nicolson’s favor.
The bout was tactical. Nicolson’s angles and movement troubled Luna, especially in the middle rounds, as she worked around Luna’s aggression. Nicolson, a 30-year-old from Yatala, Queensland, Australia, and a 2020 Olympian, demonstrated mastery of distance and movement, outclassing the 31-year-old Luna, who was unable to adjust to Nicolson’s versatility and elusive style.
Nicolson previously held the WBC featherweight title before being dethroned by Tiara Brown in February. Nicolson, who improved to 15-1 (3 KOs), now has three wins in her new weight class. She had won her two previous bouts at junior featherweight by stoppage. Luna, of Durango, Mexico, fell to 28-5-1 (4 KOs), as the former two-division titleholder saw a three-fight win streak snapped.
Earlier on the undercard of the Diego Pacheco-Kevin Lele Sadjo main event, junior featherweight Arturo Cardenas recorded the biggest win of his career, defeating Cesar Vaca via a 10-round unanimous decision. The scores were 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92.
Cardenas, 25, dropped the 24-year-old Vaca with a straight right hand in Round 7.
Cardenas improved to 17-0-1 (9 KOs), while Vaca fell to 19-3-1 (12 KOs). Vaca has now suffered back-to-back defeats. In May, he lost to Sam Goodman in Australia.
Cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke, of Kent, England, recorded a fourth-round knockout over Anthony Hollaway, of Peoria, Illinois. The time of the stoppage was 3 minutes.
Referee Michael Margado deducted a point from Hollaway for holding in the fourth round. When the round ended, Hollaway, who was on unsteady legs, walked back to his corner and sat on his stool while slumping into the ropes and as his team tried to tend to a cut over his left eye. The referee halted the bout between rounds. Hollaway collapsed after he was informed the bout was over and was stretchered out of the ring.
Clarke, a 34-year-old who fought in the 2020 Olympics, snapped a two-fight losing streak and ran his record to 11-2 (8 KOs). Halloway, 31, now has a record of 9-10-3 (7 KOs).
Featherweight Sachery Sam, of Stockton, won a unanimous decision over Brandon Medina, of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.
Scores were 60-52, 59-53 and 58-54.
Sam, 24, forced Medina to take a knee after landing a left hook to the body in Round 1. Sam floored Medina again in Round 3 with a left hook to the chin. Sam is now 5-0 (2 KOs), while the 26-year-old Medina dropped to 7-4.
In the opening bout, lightweight Cesar Olvera, of Stockton, fought to a majority draw with Victor Saravia, of Sun Valley, California. Two judges scored the bout 38-38, with another scoring it 40-36 for Olvera.
Olvera, 24, is now 1-0-1 (1 KOs), while the 32-year-old Saravia fell to 1-6-3 (1 KO).
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
