When Skye Nicolson won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in her hometown of the Gold Coast, Australia, it looked as if the world would be at her feet.
Fast-forward six years ago, and it is very much still the case for the Queenslander, who is set to make history when she becomes the first woman to fight on a Riyadh Season bill.
Nicolson will square off with Great Britain's Raven Chapman on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol this month at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, which will be broadcast live on DAZN Pay-Per View, which you can purchase here.
Ahead of the history-making encounter, DAZN takes a look back at Nicolson's career so far, in The Journey, ahead of her blockbuster clash this October.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight card |
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From then...
Nicolson began boxing before she was a teenager and established herself as one of Australia's most promising amateur prospects at the 2016 World Championships.
There, she won bronze in the welterweight division, but subsequently was overlooked for selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with the country sending only three fighters.
Undeterred, she dropped four weight divisions to featherweight and made a near-immediate impact, capped with gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
That set the stage for her to head to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games three years later, but she missed out on bronze after a quarter-final loss to Great Britain's Karriss Artingstall.
Nevertheless, her performance laid the final piece of groundwork for the next stage of her career, and she turned professional shortly after returning home from Japan.
At the time, Nicolson was adamant that she wished to balance both, and bid for a place at Paris 2024 for a shot at that Olympic medal.
But she ultimately acknowledged that she had moved further away in relinquishing her amateur status when she sat for an interview with Boxing News in September 2023.
"I had already started to let go of that dream as I started to progress through my pro-career and as the qualification process started drawing nearer," she said.
"I had the national team from back home in Australia reaching out to me about coming back and doing the qualifying process
"It was almost like I was convincing myself I wanted to go and do it rather than me actually wanting to go and do it."
DAZN...to now
Nicolson has posted an unbeaten 11-0 record across her professional career so far, with one knockout, since first stepping into the ring in March 2022 against Jessica Juarez.
A series of wins by unanimous decision or points followed over the year, ending with the inaugural Commonwealth female featherweight title versus Krystina Jacobs in October.
The following September, Nicolson became the WBC interim female featherweight champion when she defeated Sabrina Maribel Pérez in Mexico, to further boost her credentials.
A successful defence in November against Lucy Wildheart - her lone knockout - set the stage to face Sarah Mahfoud for the title proper in Las Vegas earlier this April.
Nicolson took the win by unanimous decision again, and then followed it up with a successful defence against Dyana Vargas in July, to set up her clash with Chapman in Riyadh.
Regarding the next step of her career as a world champion, the 29-year-old admitted to DAZN last month that she felt as if she was on an inevitable path forward.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
"It’s amazing, it’s so special," she said. "I feel like it’s my destiny. It’s already been written for me and I’m just living it, I’m loving it.
"I think I’m constantly getting better. We reach new levels every single time. We’ve gone to another level again and that’s where my confidence comes from."
Nicolson's next step beyond Chapman will depend on the result of her bout with the Briton, but either way, the latter's countrywoman Artingstall could be in her sights.
Having also turned professional now, the Tokyo 2020 medalist is on the Australian's hit list, with a grudge match from their quarter-final a tempting prospect down the line.
Watch Sky Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman on DAZN
Watch Skye Nicolson and Raven Chapman plus the whole Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol fight card on DAZN Pay-Per-View, which also includes Fabio Wardley, Frazer Clarke, Chris Eubank Jr, Jai Opetaia and Ben Whittaker all fighting.
The PPV is priced at £19.99 for UK viewers. To purchase and find the prices in your region click here.
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