I’m fighting for the brother I never knew

Boxer Skye believes her sibling’s spirit will urge her on to win gold

When amateur boxing champion Jamie Nicolson was tragically killed in a car accident in 1994 at just 22 – alongside his 10-year-old brother Gavin – the their parents Allan and Pat thought th the only way to heal their broken hearts would be to try for another child. Two years later later, they welcomed little Skye into the world. Not No long after her 12th birthday, birthday and much to her parents’ shock, Skye w was desperate to g get in the ring, insisti insisting her older brother, also named Allan, train her to box in their backyar backyard. “At the beginning it was very hard for us to watch her,” says dad Allan. “I just thought she was getting lessons to kee keep fit, but the next thing I know Skye is asking me to arrange a boxing match for her. She became absolutely in love with the sport.”

And from the minute she hit the ring, family and friends say the similarity between her and Jamie – Australia’s first boxer to win a world championship medal – was incredibly striking.

When she was given some archival footage of Jamie competing, Skye also realised just how alike they really are.

“We watched his Commonwealth Games fight, and that’s when it hit me we did box the same,” says Skye, 22, who hails from Yatala, south of Brisbane. “It’s like people are watching him when they watch me – tricky, evasive, southpaw fighters.”

From that moment onwards, Skye knew she would always fight not for herself, but for Jamie, and soon enough he became the

inspiration behind every win, loss and gruelling training session.

And the hard work certainly paid off. In 2016, the boxer won bronze at the World Championships, which scored her a place in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Now, with 100 fights under her belt, the boxing beauty says she is quietly confident she could win gold, having spent the lead-up to the tournament training in the Philippines.

“Over the last couple of months I’ve had the best sparring I could possibly get so I’m going into the Games in great form,” she says.

“This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever boxed in and the most important. I feel extremely prepared mentally and physically and couldn’t be happier with how everything has fallen together so perfectly.

“I will be wearing green and gold with absolute pride and I couldn’t be more excited.”

As always, Skye’s friends and family will be cheering her on as she fights in honour of the big brother she never met.

“He definitely motivates me. I always feel like I’ve got him in my corner at all my fights and it definitely keeps me going,” says Skye.

“I think Jamie would be very proud.”

‘I always feel like I’ve got him in my corner at all my fights’