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World champ’s plan for ‘superfight’ against fellow Aussie star
World champion boxer Skye Nicolson plans to unify the super bantamweight division, and then potentially fight fellow glamorous Aussie and close friend Cherneka Johnson in a bout that could net each of them a pre-retirement payday.
Nicolson will defend her WBC belt when she takes on Japanese veteran Miyo Yoshida in Texas on Monday, November 9 (AEDT).
Skye Nicolson and her friend Cherneka Johnson. Most Valuable Promotions
If she wins that bout, the 31-year-old wants to take on the winner of Ramla Ali vs Mikiah Kreps, who are fighting on the same Texas card for the vacant IBF and WBO belts.
Then the only strap left for Nicolson to take will be Melissa Mortensen’s WBA title, which the popular Queenslander hopes to fight for in Australia next year.
If her plan comes to fruition and Nicolson can hold all four super bantamweight belts, she will emulate what her friend Johnson did last year in becoming an undisputed champion.
“I hope the Australian public and fans see what I’m doing, I’m making this noise globally around the world, and then hopefully bringing the big superfights back (to Australia) at the back end of my career,” Nicolson told nine.com.au on Wednesday.
“That’s kind of always been the goal… I feel very confident we can headline big cards Down Under, I hope we can see that in 2027.
“I’m hoping to be boxing for undisputed in 2027 if all things go to plan, if everything aligns that will be a dream come true to be able to do that in Australia.
“I can see myself fighting for undisputed in my next two fights, obviously all things going to plan, and (focusing on) next week against Yoshida first.”
Nicolson was meant to fight 38-year-old Yoshida in August, but had to postpone their clash when she was injured during training.
She refused to tell nine.com.au any details of the injury because “while I’ve got someone coming to try take my head off, I don’t need them having any extra inside information into what went down”. She says she will divulge what the injury was after the fight on Monday week.
Nicolson is already a two-division world champion and is one of the most popular female boxers on the planet, with more than half a million followers on Instagram alone.
While she’s from Australia and is now based in London, she expects American fight fans to throw their support behind her.
Skye Nicolson following her victory over Carla Camila Campos Gonzales last year. Getty
“Being one of the faces of women’s boxing comes with extra expectation and pressure, so I know she’s going to bring her best,” she said of her opponent.
“My following probably is bigger in the US than the UK, just going off my social media demographics.
“I have had a lot of pro fights out here, so I feel like the American fans like my style… I feel like I’ll have some good support.”
Nicolson also expects plenty of support from back home in Australia, where she grew up between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
That was where she met Johnson, the Kiwi-turned-Aussie who moved across the ditch as a youngster before taking up the gloves.
Nicolson and Johnson met when they were 13 years old and their boxing careers have been linked since, but they have never fought each other at a professional level.
With both now signed to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company, the stars are aligning for an all-Aussie superfight.
Cherneka Johnson celebrates becoming undisputed world champion last year, before losing her belts to Dina Thorslund. Getty
Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian told nine.com.au earlier this year of his plan to bring an MVP card Down Under, and the likes of Nicolson and Johnson want to headline such an event.
“There’s definitely been talks about Cherneka and I fighting each other, and we actually spoke about it as well,” Nicolson revealed.
“If it was ever to make sense from a business point of view for Neekz (Johnson) and I, we have kind of agreed it’s something we would do.
“It would be a very respectful fight. We have literally been friends since we were kids, we were 13 years old when we met.
“It’s definitely not a fight either of us is chasing or calling each other out for, but naturally it might be a fight that comes up as a fan-demanded fight. Two very marketable Australian fighters, both world level, and we box at 118 (pounds) and 122, we are one division apart.
“I understand why there is enticement for that fight, but out of respect for Cherneka I wouldn’t be calling her out. If we were ever to fight it would be a business decision where we both get to make a lot of money, and hopefully stay friends on the other side of it.”
Next month’s bout with Yoshida will be Nicolson’s MVP event debut, after agreeing to be co-managed by them and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotions earlier this year.
“I’m being promoted by the two best promoters in women’s boxing. My job is to just keep winning... and really make the most of these last few fights of my career,” she said.
Nicolson says she “squashed the beef” she once had with MVP boss Bidarian, who had engaged in a public slanging match before breaking bread in recent months.
