Featherweight contender Skye Nicolson is confident of landing her dream title shot on home soil in Australia this year.

Nicolson had been calling for a shot at multi-weight icon Amanda Serrano, but will now face Denmark’s Sarah Mahfoud for the WBC title after the Puerto Rican champ vacated that belt last month.

The Commonwealth Gold medallist and Olympian, who is undefeated in nine fights since joining the professional ranks in March 2022, enjoyed a breakout year in 2023, securing four big wins from four fights in New York, Cardiff, Tijuana and Dublin.

Nicolson, rated at No. 5 by The Ring at featherweight, kicked off 2023 by outpointing Spain’s Tania Alvarez at the Madison Square Garden Theater before decisioning Peru’s Linda Laura Lecca in her second fight at the Cardiff International Arena.

The slick southpaw moved on to defeat Argentina’s Maribel Perez in Mexico and ended the year in style by earning her first stoppage win against Sweden’s Lucy Wildheart on the blockbuster Cameron vs. Taylor 2 card in Ireland.

The 28-year-old Nicolson spoke at a media day in Brisbane and admitted that it would be a dream come true to capture a title belt in front of her family and friends down under.

“I think Matchroom are trying really hard to get the fight in Australia, hopefully in Brisbane, which would be a dream come true for my first title,” said Nicolson. “I’m really excited to win that first (belt) and bring it home to Australia. Matchroom, right now, are trying to focus on a date in April.

“I think a lot of people thought my last fight was going to be a tough test for me but I know what I’m capable of. I didn’t overlook Lucy Wildheart but I knew that fight was going to be a big statement. I’ve said from day one, the better the opponent, the better the Skye Nicolson you’ll see on the night.

“I know Mahfoud won three rounds against Serrano just over a year ago. She won’t win three rounds against me. That was the same against Wildheart, she won three rounds against Mikaela Meyer. She wasn’t winning three rounds against me, never, it wasn’t even going to be close. I feel very confident, I know she’s a good boxer but that works in my favour, I like fighting good boxers.”

A press release by Matchroom was used in this article.