Skye Nicolson is living up to her early career promise to make up for lost time.
On the heels of a successful pro debut earlier this month in the U.S., Nicolson will travel to jolly old England for her second pro fight. A quarterfinalist for Australia in last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, Nicolson is confirmed to appear on the undercard of a March 26 event at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. The show is headlined by local hero Josh Warrington (30-1-1, 7KOs) in a bid to become two-time IBF featherweight titlist in a rematch with defending titleholder Kiko Martinez (43-10-2, 30KOs).
Nicolson is still working on an opponent for her bout, a six-round affair at a contracted weight of 128 pounds, one pound lighter than her March pro debut as she gradually transitions to featherweight.
“I can’t wait to make my UK debut in Leeds on March 26th,” Nicolson told BoxingScene.com. “This whole experience has been a whirlwind so far, my US debut was only less than three weeks ago.”
Nicolson (1-0, 0KOs)—a 26-year-old southpaw from Yatala, Australia—earned her first pro win in a six-round, unanimous decision over locally based Jessica Juarez (3-1,1KOs) as part of a DAZN-streamed card from Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The strong showing came as the first fight of an event was headlined by legendary former four-division titlist Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs), who soundly outpointed WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Martinez (18-2, 14KOs; 2NC) in a non-title fight at junior bantamweight.
Earlier in the fight week, global superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (57-1-2, 39KOs) held a press conference mere miles away to formally announce his challenge of WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11KOs) atop a May 7 DAZN Pay-Per-View event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Nicolson was on hand for the press conference, while Alvarez was in attendance for the March 5 DAZN show.
Following the win, Nicolson confirmed to BoxingScene.com of her plans to fight at least six times in 2022 (“6-0, looking at my first world title fight, or a fight to become a contender for a world title"). The ambitious goal was established after having not fought at all since her quarterfinal loss to eventual Silver medalist Karriss Artingstall (Great Britain) last July in the Tokyo Olympics.
“I am loving every moment of this journey,” admits Nicolson. “I am looking for a very active 2022 to put myself in a position to fight for the featherweight world title in early 2023.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
