Skye Nicolson Outpoints Miyo Yoshida To Retain WBC Title

Skye Nicolson made a comfortable first defence of her WBC super bantamweight title on Sunday night, beating Miyo Yoshida by unanimous decision at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Chris Tellez gave the Australian every round, scoring it 100 to 90. Sergio Caiz had it 99 to 91 and Tom Millie 98 to 92. Yoshida did her best work at close quarters. She spent most of the ten rounds trying to get there.

This was Nicolson’s first appearance for Most Valuable Promotions. She and Yoshida had been due to meet in Birmingham in August, but the champion was injured in training. At 31, the Queensland southpaw was already a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, a Tokyo Olympic quarterfinalist and a former WBC featherweight champion. Tiara Brown had taken that title from her by split decision in Sydney in March 2025, her only professional defeat. Nicolson moved down, beat Yulihan Luna for the interim title and defended it against Mariah Turner in April. The WBC elevated her to full champion in May after Ellie Scotney vacated.

Yoshida, 38, from Kagoshima, had twice held the WBO super flyweight title and had won the IBF bantamweight championship by outpointing Ebanie Bridges in December 2023. She was bidding to become a champion in a third division and had won her two previous fights, most recently against Edith de Jesus Flores in April. Both women were inside the 122-pound limit, Nicolson at 121.4 pounds and Yoshida at 120.6. Nicolson had two inches in height on the challenger and made the difference in reach count from the opening bell.

Yoshida tried the right hand early. Nicolson answered with quick lefts and began to pick her off with the lead right as the challenger stepped forward. The pattern was firmer by the second round. Yoshida tried to reach over the lead with looping punches, and Nicolson moved clear and brought her left down to the body. Yoshida managed a pair of rights when she got close. She had to start the approach again almost as soon as she had finished it.

Nicolson’s lead hand kept finding the target in the third, even when Yoshida got close enough to trade. In the fourth, the challenger backed her up with a burst of punches. Nicolson caught her with a counter right, tied her up and went back to picking her shots when they separated. Yoshida got an uppercut through, but Nicolson had already done the better work. In the fifth, Yoshida tried to cut off the ring and got a left into the body. It was Nicolson who ended up pressing her towards the ropes, where she brought the right hook into play.

Yoshida had more success at close quarters in the sixth, getting right hands through in the clinch and catching Nicolson with a good left. Nicolson put a left uppercut through after a separation and finished with punches from both hands. Yoshida kept trying the overhand in the seventh and was still landing short rights when they tied up. Nicolson worked at longer range again in the eighth, circling away after punching. Yoshida landed to the body and had a brief spell of success inside, but each time the distance opened she was back to following the champion.

A counter left met Yoshida at the start of the ninth, and Nicolson later brought an uppercut through between the challenger’s straight punches. The champion opened the last with uppercuts and kept mixing them into her combinations. Yoshida still came after her and landed more punches in that round than in any other. The bout went the full ten rounds of two minutes without a knockdown or point deduction. When the decision came, Nicolson pumped her fist, crossed herself and blew kisses towards the cameras.

CompuBox counted 116 punches landed from 337 thrown by Nicolson, against 66 from 296 for Yoshida, a connect rate of 34.4 per cent against 22.3. Nicolson had the advantage in jabs, 26 to 14, and in power punches, 90 to 52. She led 29 to eight in body connects and landed more punches overall in every round except the tenth. The win took her to 17 wins and one defeat with three knockouts. Yoshida, who came in with 19 wins, five defeats and one knockout, took her sixth loss.

“It was a pretty average performance, but I’m happy to get the win,” Nicolson said. She felt the effects of her longest break since turning professional. Before the fight, she had said she wanted the winner of Ramla Ali and Mikiah Kreps, who boxed later on the ESPN card. Ali took the vacant IBF and WBO belts by split decision, giving Nicolson a clear target for the unification she wants. In the main event, Alycia Baumgardner beat Elif Nur Turhan on points to take the IBF lightweight title.

I had Skye Nicolson winning comfortably. She caught Miyo Yoshida coming in with the lead right, brought the left through and moved before Yoshida could answer. Every time Yoshida thought she’d got close enough, she had to start again.

Yoshida landed short rights when she got chest to chest. I’d have liked her to step across Nicolson’s path and dig to the body. Too often she threw the overhand from too far out. When she tried to cut off the ring, she ended up taking a right hook near the ropes herself.

I liked the uppercuts Nicolson brought in late. Yoshida kept coming, and they gave her something else to think about. Nicolson was hard on herself afterwards. I’d take that after a long layoff against a former world champion.