WBC interim featherweight titleholder Skye Nicolson 9-0 (1) might just be into her second year as a pro, but she insists she is ready for the top dogs in her division.
The 28-year-old Australian southpaw scored her first stoppage victory on the weekend when the corner of Lucy Wildheart 10-3 (4) threw in the towel midway through the penultimate round.
The bout took place on the undercard of the rematch between undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron 18-1 (8) and undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor 23-1 (6) at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday night.
Nicholson believes she is ready to challenge undisputed 126-pound champion Amanda ‘The Real Deal’ Serrano 46-2-1 (30). The 35-year-old Puerto Rican southpaw is undefeated at featherweight across a storied 14-year pro career.
Asked what’s next in an interview with The MMA Hour, Nicholson made her ambitions clear.
“We’ll see,” she said. “Obviously I want the Serrano fight. She’s the champion in my division. I want to be world champion. I want to prove to the world that I’m the best and I want to do that by beating the best.
“Every time I call out Serrano, it’s never because I disrespect her or don’t think she’s good or whatever. I want to fight the best. That’s why I’m calling her out. I want to show my levels. I want to prove that I’m worthy. That’s why I call her out.
“I know that 90 percent of people write me off in that fight and I do not care. I believe I win that fight, my team believes I win that fight, my style is all wrong for her. I keep saying this. But it’s OK. I don’t want to talk about it, I want to prove it. I want the fight.
“The ball’s going to be in her court. I’m going to be her mandatory and it’s going to be completely up to her whether she takes the fight or whether she leaves the belt. For me, I want that fight. I don’t want to fight for a vacant title against somebody else. I want to beat the best.”
Nicholson, who is a pure boxer who uses her footwork and movement to confuse opponents and set up traps, believes Serrano’s aggressive, come-forward style will play into her hands.
“I believe that my style upsets her because I’m not going to stand in front of her,” Nicolson said.
“She’s flat-footed. She’s strong. Very aggressive, very strong, but she’s flat-footed. She’s got slow feet and she looks good against someone who stands and trades with her, and that’s not what I would do.
“I would use angles, I would box and move, I will set traps, I’ll walk her onto shots, I’ll have her walking onto the ropes and making her look silly.
“That’s what I do to my opponents and that’s why so many people keep saying, ‘Skye hasn’t fought anyone good’. No, actually, I’m better. You just don’t see it because I make people look bad.”
