Eddie Lam: “Don’t be fooled by how she looks. Believe me when I say Skye Nicolson is never happier than when she’s punching someone in the face.”
Eddie Lam: "Don't be fooled by how she looks. Believe me when I say Skye Nicolson is never happier than when she's punching someone in the face." "Yes, Skye's more than ready. She was a world-class amateur with over 150 fights. She's had a goo…
Eddie Lam: "Don't be fooled by how she looks. Believe me when I say Skye Nicolson is never happier than when she's punching someone in the face."
"Yes, Skye's more than ready. She was a world-class amateur with over 150 fights. She's had a good couple of years transitioning over to the pro game. She's ready to go now."
The words of Eddie Lam about his protege Skye Nicolson ahead of her maiden world title opportunity this weekend against Sarah Mahfoud in Las Vegas for the vacant WBC world featherweight title.
Mahfoud, a former IBF world featherweight champion, is ranked second by Boxrec. Only the former undisputed champion Amanda Serrano is ahead of her in their often maligned ranking system, and despite the obvious confidence from the Nicolson camp, they know their opponent has to be respected.
"Sarah Mahfoud is a tough, strong girl," Lam says of the former IBF bauble holder. "She's 14-1, and her only loss is a points decision to Serrano. It will be Skye's hardest fight, but you wouldn't expect anything less fighting for a world title."
Nicolson has done very little wrong in her nine fights professional fights since she left her amateur days behind in 2022. She has glided her way, virtually untouched in getting this far in a little over two years. For some, who want a more blood-and-guts approach to the sport, the elusive southpaw style of the Australian isn't for them. But in truth, that patented style of hers is her biggest weapon. A way of fighting that can leave an opponent three or four rounds down before they have landed anything of note. A fact that isn't lost on Lam, and they are still in the process of adding even more layers to her game, he says.
"Skye's judgement of distance is impeccable. She's very intelligent and reads a fight well. She is very accurate with her punches, and in the gym, we've been working on adding a little bit more pop into them. Every day in the gym, we're working on her being a more rounded fighter. From what I've seen, she's good enough to beat them all.
"It's been a challenging couple of years trying to adapt her style from the amateurs to the pros. Sometimes, you can be in the amateurs a bit too long, and that hit-and-move amateur style was ingrained in her. The biggest lesson was the Tania Alvarez fight over a year ago at Madison Square Garden. After that fight, we had to go back to the drawing board, she hasn't put a foot wrong since."
Lam has made additions to the Skye Nicolson inner circle along the way and knows it is a team game.
"I have Al Smith in the gym who looks over her and the iBox boys who work alongside her every day. I also brought Bradley Skeete back on board as part of Skye's team, and he's been brilliant."
A win over her Danish opponent at the weekend will not only bring her the vacant WBC that Amanda Serrano gave up over the WBC's stance on not sanctioning world title fights over three-minute rounds, but it will push her a little closer to her dream fight with the legendary Puerto Rican. The fight with Serrano is the fight that Nicolson has always wanted.
"Skye wants the Serrano fight," Lam says of that potential showdown with Serrano. "From day one, she told us all that she had the style to beat her. Serrano wants someone to stand with her and have a fight, but Skye won't accommodate her. Skye is all wrong for Serrano. She'll be her worst nightmare."
The most impressive aspect about the former Olympian is her seemingly impregnable confidence in her own ability.
"A lot of people watch me from the outside, and they think I'm overrated and over-hyped. And then they fight me or spar, and then they think, ok, I get it now." Nicolson once told me.
"Skye never lacks self-belief. She's a very positive person. She knows exactly where she wants to be, and she knows exactly how she's going to get there." Lam says of his fighters' mindset.
A win on Saturday in Las Vegas not only brings a possible undisputed fight with Serrano but also potential fights with the unbeaten British duo Raven Chapman and Karriss Artingstall. Those fights and more are very much of interest to Nicolson, Lam says.
"Skye wants the biggest fights out there. Obviously, they have to make business sense, but she thrives on the challenge."
But before any talk of what lies ahead, Nicolson will know she has to beat Sarah Mahfoud this coming weekend. It does seem that the bookies share her confidence in her doing exactly that. Nicolson is 1/10 in some places to be crowned the world featherweight champion in Las Vegas. There does seem an inevitability about the result, a perceived foregone conclusion that Skye Nicolson will win her first world title in only her tenth professional fight. But Nicolson knows better than to take anything for granted. She was in tears when she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo courtesy of a wafer-thin decision points defeat to Artingstall. I suspect the tears will flow again in Vegas. But in a totally different manner. Tears of despair should be replaced by tears of joy. The only question might be if and when her arm is raised in victory, is just how far she can go?
"I've got big goals I want to achieve, and I know what I am capable of. I'm confident, I back myself, and if the opportunity comes, I am going to take it." Nicolson has previously told FightPost. That opportunity has finally arrived. You suspect, she won't waste it.
"Don't be fooled by how she looks. All the media stuff, the photo shoots, believe me when I say Skye Nicolson is never happier than when she's punching someone in the face." Eddie Lam
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Melina Pizano/Matchroom
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