Skye Nicolson: Breaking down barriers & following her own rules!

Nicolson’s parents Allan and Pat ran a family gym back home in Australia, dedicated to their late son Jamie.

Jamie, a talented international amateur boxer, tragically died aged 22 in 1994 in a crash also involving his ten-year-old brother Gavin.

But the sport lives on through Skye, who like Jamie starred on the Olympic stage before turning professional.

And after beginning her boxing journey before turning a teenager, Jamie was an inspiration to Nicolson before she even knew it.

“As a 12-year-old I wasn’t thinking, ‘I want to be like Jamie,” says Nicolson.

“But I think subconsciously, growing up hearing all these wonderful things, I didn’t realise what a role model he was to me until as an adult looking back on it.”

Jamie won bronze at the amateur World Championships and Commonwealth Games before qualifying for the 1992 Olympics.

He also had a 7–1 pro record before his sad passing, which came one year before Nicolson was born.

Parents Allan and Pat would set up a gym in his honour in their backyard, called The Jamie Nicolson Memorial Boxing Gym.

So before long, Nicolson was introduced to the family trade, and it was older brother Alan who first spotted her talent.

Nicolson – after just eight weeks of proper training – was matched up against an opponent with five bouts to her name.

And little did she know, it was the fight that would ultimately shape her life forever.

“I won and I never looked back, basically,” Nicolson says.

Nicolson’s first amateur bout was in 2008, a time when women’s boxing was not even an Olympic sport.

But three years later, the news broke that it would be introduced at the London Games, and thus Nicolson’s Olympic dream was realised.

The same year, she also represented Australia at the junior world championships, just like her brother Jamie once did.

“That was a really big thing for me, getting my green and gold tracksuit and all the kit, I was going to be boxing with Australia on my back,” she says.

“That was a big turning point and moment for me where I started realising this is my dream, this is what I want to do, I want to represent my country on the world stage and win medals.”

From that moment on, it was the road to the Olympic Games in Rio for Nicolson.

But in the qualifying stages, she suffered the “biggest heartbreak” of her amateur boxing career by losing her qualification bout.

“That was probably the only time in my career I felt like I wanted to quit boxing,” Nicolson remembers.

“Everyone had felt I won the fight, but I didn’t get the decision and there is no second chance, there is no appeal.

“It was just, three people around the ring saw her win the fight, when everybody else who saw that fight knows who won the fight.”

Despite the setback, it did not take long for Nicolson to dust herself down as she went on to win bronze at the 2016 World Championships in Kazakhstan, emulating the same success as Jamie almost three decades earlier.

“Jamie won Australia’s first ever men’s world championship medal, he got bronze like 30 years earlier. So that was quite cool.”

The success carried on for Nicolson, as she won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, setting her up for a run to Tokyo.

But that was until the coronavirus pandemic struck, all but KO’ing Nicolson’s hopes of Olympic glory.

“That was really s***. I was like, they can’t cancel the Olympic Games, it’s never happened,” Nicolson says.

“I think the only Olympic Games that got cancelled were during the world war. I was like, ‘There’s no way, they’re 100 per cent going ahead.’ This was in March and the Olympics was in July.”

Nicolson was later relieved to fight out that the Games in Japan were only postponed a year – not cancelled.

But due to Covid restrictions, she went without international sparring or competition and had an almost two-year hiatus from the ring before her Olympic campaign.

Nicolson was ultimately beaten by Team GB’s Karriss Artingstall in the quarter-final stages.

“I was so proud that I was going to the Olympic Games, that in itself was a huge achievement that as a kid I would never have dreamed of,” she says.

“As a kid, the thought that I would ever be in the Olympic Games, representing Australia, it was like there’s no way, that’s impossible.

“I sometimes forget how big some of the things I’ve actually done are. Because I have such big ambitions and goal, I forget sometimes to just sit and reflect and go, ‘s***, that was pretty cool.’”

Nicolson had no intentions of turning over to the paid ranks after Tokyo and instead set her sights on Paris in 2024.

But following a smooth sales pitch from promoter Eddie Hearn, the Aussie sensation was convinced otherwise.

Hearn also beat Australia’s biggest promoters, No Limit Boxing, to the signing of Nicolson as he asked: “Do you want to be a star in Australia, or do you want to be a star around the world?”

“That was basically the difference between going with Matchroom or going there,” Nicolson says.

Nicolson had met Hearn and her now-manager Paul Reddy at the backend of 2021 when visiting the UK with the Australian boxing team.

She was also introduced to Eddie Lam at the i-Box Gym in Bromley – and before long the wheels were in motion for a career in the pro ranks.

“Within a couple of weeks, everything was signed, sealed and delivered, Nicolson says.

Despite racing to a 7-0 record in just over a year, Nicolson is still fighting the urge to have one more go at the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee allows pros to return back to amateur competition and the Australian team are constantly knocking on Nicolson’s door.

“Australia has never won an Olympic gold medal in boxing, ever. Man or women. So that’s why I’ve wanted to achieve since realising my Olympic dream,” she says.

“I feel that’s why I can’t leave Paris 2024 out of the equation right now. There’s this thing in the back of my head going, ‘Olympic gold medal. Olympic gold medal. Unfinished business.’ I just feel like, if Paris 2024 comes around and I don’t give it a go, then I’ll regret it forever.”

Nicolson has until August to make a decision, when qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics come around.

But it comes as the featherweight also closes in on a world title shot.

Although Sarah Mahfoud, Heather Hardy, Brenda Carabajal have all turned Nicolson down, much to her despair.

“They will not fight me for no amount of money, they’re not interested,” she says. “It’s frustrating because I want to fight the best and I know when I’m against good fighters, I will fight better.”

Nicolson has also found herself in a back-and-forth exchange with undisputed champion Amanda Serrano.

But with Serrano, 34, looking towards big-money bouts before retiring, Nicolson fears missing out on facing the seven-weight champ.

“I think it’s more likely that we won’t fight then we will. Because she knows my style is all wrong for her, she’s looking to get two or three paydays to get out now.

“She’s not going to risk it against someone who’s had less than ten fights. She’s going to look for the Katie Taylor rematch, potentially Alycia Baumgardner for all the belts at 130, maybe Mikaela Mayer at 135.

“But I don’t see her giving me that opportunity or risking everything, this late in her career.”

Nicolson will instead have to quite literally fight her way into Serrano’s path by becoming mandatory challenger.

She is set to be ordered into a fight with Sabrina Perez, with the winner becoming next in line for Serrano’s WBC title.

“It will make me mandatory for Amanda Serrano and then the ball is in her court. She can either fight me or she can vacate the belt. Either way, I’m coming.” Nicolson says.

Away from the ring, Nicolson is settling into life in England, having left behind her family and friends back home in pursuit of boxing glory.

“I love the lifestyle of Australia, I think I’ll always settle down back home,” Nicolson reveals.

“I miss the weather, the laid back chilled lifestyle. I miss my dog – not my dog here – the one back home.

“I’ve been quite lucky, my parents have been to five out of my seven pro fights, so I’ve still seen them quite regularly.

“My sister and her family live in Dubai, so that’s only half way from home which is a bit closer to me.

“I miss my family and friends obviously, but I absolutely love what I’m doing, I know I’m exactly where I need to be to be the best boxer and athlete that I can be.”

And the championship-chasing prospect enjoys juggling life as a glamour sports star-turned fierce fighter.

“I feel like I’ve always had this 50/50 split of tomboy and girly-girl. Always, since I was a little girl,” Nicolson says.

“I love that I can embrace my femininity, I love that I can dress up, wear make up, go out in a dress and heels and still be rugged in the gym and be sweaty and not care.

“I love that boxing kind of gives me that and I love that it shows girls that you can be feminine, you can be a womanly woman and still be a fighter.

“You can be in a sport that is dominated by men and I think subconsciously, that is always something that made me love boxing as well.”