Skye Nicolson retained her WBC super bantamweight world title with a unanimous decision win over Miyo Yoshida at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday. The judges scored the fight 98-92, 100-90 and 99-91, all in favour of the Australian, who improved her professional record to 17-1.

The win was Nicolson's first defence of the full WBC title at 122 pounds, which she was awarded in May after Ellie Scotney vacated the belt. The fight was shown on ESPN as part of the Most Valuable Promotions MVPW07 card, headlined by Alycia Baumgardner winning the IBF lightweight title against Elif Nur Turhan.

A wide win on the cards

Nicolson took control early, using her reach to keep Yoshida at the end of her punches. The challenger kept pressing forward but struggled to close the distance and never found her rhythm, and by the time the fighters came out for the 10th and final round the commentary team agreed Yoshida needed a knockout to win.

Commentator Crystina Poncher said Nicolson was in a flow state, noting that she had landed double the shots of Yoshida. Nicolson landed 80 of the 199 punches she threw, and Poncher said she landed more punches on Yoshida than anybody ever has. One judge gave Nicolson all 10 rounds.

Despite the wide scores, Nicolson was far from satisfied with her performance. "I wouldn't say I was happy with that performance," she said afterwards. "It was a pretty average performance, but I'm happy to get the win. Happy to get back in there. That was the longest I've been out of the ring since I turned pro. I felt that a little bit out there."

Yoshida's third-division bid falls short

Yoshida, 38, came into the fight as a former world champion in two divisions and was chasing a title in a third. The Japanese fighter, who is based in New York, had beaten Australia's Ebanie Bridges in San Francisco in December 2023 to take the IBF bantamweight title, so the win also gave Australian boxing a measure of revenge. Yoshida's record now stands at 19-6.

The fight had originally been due to take place in Birmingham in August, before an injury forced Nicolson to withdraw. She told The Ring last week that the layoff had been frustrating, but that she had made the most of the extra time in the gym and was prepared for a clash of styles against an opponent whose work rate had carried her to world titles in two divisions.

Nicolson's road to the title

Nicolson won the interim WBC super bantamweight title against Mexico's Yulihan Luna in December and defended it against Mariah Turner in Melbourne in April, before being elevated to full champion in May. She previously held the WBC featherweight title from April 2024 to March 2025, when she lost it to American Tiara Brown by split decision in Sydney. Brown remains the only fighter to beat her as a professional.

As an amateur, Nicolson won gold in the featherweight event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and represented Australia at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. She turned professional in March 2022 and is now a two-weight world champion.

Unification next

Before the bout, Nicolson said she wanted to unify the super bantamweight division in 2027. She also said she still wanted a rematch with Brown and was continuing to chase a fight with Amanda Serrano. "Unification fights are really there to be made," she said. With the Yoshida defence behind her, Nicolson and her team will now pursue bouts with the other titleholders at 122 pounds, with the WBA, IBF and WBO belts all in play for a future undisputed clash.