WBC Featherweight Champion Tiara Brown Talks Skye Nicolson, Aims For Bigger Fights (Exclusive)

Tiara Brown realized her lifelong dream of becoming a world champion when she defeated Sky Nicolson via split decision to win the WBC women's featherweight title. A multi-sport athlete from a young age, Brown pursued boxing for the opportunity it presented to travel the world.

She is a former police officer, but made time for training despite the strenuous daily 10-hour shifts. All the early morning trainings and sacrifices paid dividends as Brown was finally crowned a world champion.

In an exclusive interview with KO On SI, Brown reflected on her past, the rivalry with Skye Nicolson, her future, Jake Paul, and also shared her prediction for some notable upcoming fights.

Q: How did you begin boxing and manage to train during your law enforcement career?

Tiara Brown: "Well, I’ve actually been boxing since I was 13 years old. Boxing was a part of my family. We had two older cousins that were boxers. In school I played Basketball, I ran track, I ran cross country. And when I first began boxing, I only did it to stay in shape. My passion sport was basketball.

"But I just started getting better and better at boxing. And then eventually, I stopped playing basketball, I continued to run cross country, but boxing became my focus. I went to Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, where I received my Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. So, I always liked learning about the law. And I moved to Washington, DC, I believe it was 2010. I was at HeadBangers Boxing Gym. So, at my boxing gym, there were a lot of police officers came to workout. So I thought, you know, I should join the force. And then I joined the force in the DC Metropolitan Police department.

"I was a cop there for five and a half years. I was awarded Officer of the Year out of 3000 police officers in DC. I had the American flag flown over the capital building on my behalf. So, I never stopped boxing, I have always been boxing my whole life. When I was a police officer, it was very difficult for me to train and compete and work at the same time. I had a shift at 6 o'clock in the morning. So, everyday I’d wake up at 2:30, workout from 3 to 4:30 am, then get ready and do my police job.

"I probably did like 10 hour shifts. When I get off work, I’d go back to the boxing gym. It was a lot to do. I stopped being a police officer I believe in 2020. I moved back home to Florida, I missed being a police officer, I joined the force here in Florida, but the more and more my boxing career would take off, it was too much to handle. So I left the force, but I am actually the head boxing coach for the Fort Myers Police Athletic League."

Q: What made you choose boxing over basketball? Were you better at boxing?

Tiara Brown: "I don’t think I was better at boxing. I have always loved basketball, it’s a team sport. Boxing is a lonely sport, not a team sport. It was more so that boxing allowed me to travel the world. I was at team USA, the number 1, it allowed me to travel the world. It opened so many more doors for me.

"We could travel all different countries, we could go to different nations, different countries came to America to fight with us. I started getting so many friends who aren’t American. It was the coolest thing to be able to travel for free. Most people in my family have never left the city. I am the only person in my family that can say I’ve travelled the globe."

Q: Do you have any childhood idols that got you into boxing?

Tiara Brown: "When I was a teenager, my favorite two fighters were Laila Ali and Ann Wolfe. I remember watching Ann Wolfe when she fought Vonda Ward. Wow, this lady knocked out this lady like Mike Tyson style. And that’s when I was like, girl, we can do this too. If she’s knocking out people like that, I mean when she hit Vonda Ward, she collapsed like a tree. Boom. And it was that moment I was like, yeah, this is it."

Q: Congratulations on your WBC featherweight title win against Skye Nicolson. Any response to Eddie Hearn bashing the 97-93 scorecard in your favor?

Tiara Brown: "My response to Eddie, he said one judge scored it for me 97-93, but I believe the first judge scored it for Skye 97-93. He had no objection there. It was okay when it was his fighter. I think I won unanimously. Skye didn’t perform the way everyone said she’d perform. She didn’t perform the way she said she would. She said she was in the best shape of her life. She said I was old, I have never done anything in the sport of boxing, I was too slow, that she was gonna make me look ridiculous.

"When the night came, I performed and she didn’t. I think it’s very powerful that the last scorecard came down to the Australian judge, who saw it 97-93 for me. So, for people to say it was close and it could have gone either way, I think that’s ridiculous. I praise god because he was in my corner and he was in my training camp the entire time.

"I think Eddie thought if the last scorecard came down to the Australian judge, they’d automatically get it. That says to me you thought just because the last judge was Australian, he’d favor you regardless of the fight. He’d favor you because she’s Australian and he’s Australian. So you wanted him to be biased and corrupt. So that’s not good for the sport of boxing."

Q: Would you rematch Skye Nicolson? If you do, would you go back to Australia or fight in the US?

Tiara Brown: "Being the champion, I don’t think I will go back to Australia to fight Skye Nicolson. For two years, she said so many bad things about me. That I am so far off the radar that I am irrelevant. So now, I look at her like she’s irrelevant. She has no belt, she has nothing to offer me. I think Skye is my past, not my future. I am looking to fight better opponents. I would like to get more belts. Skye is my past, not my future. If she’d like a rematch, she’s gonna have to fight very hard to secure another belt and then we can talk business."

Q: Would you fight Amanda Serrano? Does moving up in weight to face Alycia Baumgardner interest you?

Tiara Brown: "Alycia Baumgardner is in 130 pounds so she’s not in my division. Amanda is in my division as well as Nina [Meinke]. I wanna go after the belts. Amanda is someone I look up to. She’s like someone I look up to, she’s like actually my role model and I’d love to see how I compare to someone, you know I looked up to Amanda since I was on team USA.

"I followed her entire career when I was in team USA because she was my favorite female fighter of present time. So, I am willing to get in the ring and I wanna fight the best fighters. I don’t wanna fight the best fighters on paper, I wanna fight the best fighters in reality. Looking in the past, Skye, she was in my past. I want to secure all the belts in the future and that is what I am gonna do."

Tiara Brown vs Skye Nicholson — IMAGO / AAP

Q: How do you think Serrano does in the trilogy against Katie Taylor? What changes should she make?

Tiara Brown: "You know what people say, third time’s the charm. I think Amanda’s gonna win this fight. I think that in the past fights, she might have taken her foot off the gas but ultimately won, so I think this fight, she’s not gonna take her foot off the gas. I think she’s gonna give her 120% each round and I can’t wait to be there. I will be there, I am not missing this fight. This is the best fight, this is fight number three.

"This is just amazing what Amanda and Katie are doing for the sport, what MVP are doing for the sport, what my promoter OTX, they’re doing for the sport. I take my hat off to them. It’s not easy to be promoters and it’s extremely hard to promote women’s boxing and you have a lot of people who still feel women should stay in the kitchen. You have so many people who still think women are only good for cooking and cleaning. Then you have promoters like my promoter OTX, MVP, Matchroom, who want women to have opportunities, they want women to have equality and I am here for it."

Q: Thoughts on Jake Paul promoting influencer boxing and his skills in the ring?

Tiara Brown: "I think Jake is like any other boxer who is new to the sport. A lot of people don’t realize that he’s been loving boxing. I remember watching old videos of him when he was a kid. I was one of the first people who was like, ‘Who is this Jake Paul? Talking about changing the game of boxing? I’ve never heard of him because I am not a YouTuber’."

"And then when I went back and I started looking at YouTube and this kid, probably not a kid but at that time, he has been following boxing for an incredibly long time. I take my hat off to him because he’s new to the boxing game and even though he’s new to the boxing game, he’s giving it all to the women’s sport. He’s trying to do what a lot of promoters, they talk the talk but then they don’t walk the walk. He’s talking the talk and he’s walking the walk."

"So, I applaud him for what he’s doing. As far as boxing, just like any other boxer who is new to the sport, he is learning, he’s in the gym, he’s training and he’s getting better. He’s better than the first time we saw him fight, it’s progression. Boxing is a sport where you can’t take off. It’s not like basketball or track. Boxing is the sport where you have to give it your all. And I think that’s what he’s doing."

Q: When can fans expect to see Tiara Brown back in the ring?

Tiara Brown: "After I won my fight, my coach told me to take three weeks off, I ended up taking off two days because for me, boxing is just my passion. It’s what I love to do and enjoy. I told my manager I wanna fight in June. He’s like, ‘June, you just fought.’ I need to fight, I love competing, I love pushing myself to the limit, I love training. As of now, I don’t have a set date, but I am ready and willing whenever."

Q: Who are your current top five pound-for-pound fighters?

Tiara Brown: "I think that’s very difficult. The thing about me, I like ranking weight classes. It doesn’t do justice to say one person or top three people when you have fighters in this division, this division and so on. So, I don’t like to rank the top of the top as then people get left out when they deserve not to be left out. I just think that I am all here for women doing great things right now."

Q: Upcoming fight predictions

Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn: Conor Benn

Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero: Ryan Garcia

Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez: "I am kind of biased because I am on the team with Ramirez but I also like Devin Haney. I think it depends on what Devin Haney shows up. Because, Ramirez, a lot people are underestimating him. But he’s a good fighter, I have followed his whole career. He’s never got his flowers, no one has given him his flowers. I think it’s gonna be a great fight. I’d say it’s 50-50."

Q: What are your predictions for Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull? Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford?

Tiara Brown: "I am a huge Canelo fan. I do think he’s about to win his upcoming fight (vs Scull). As for Canelo and Crawford, I would like to see how Crawford adjusts to that big weight. Everytime people underestimated Crawford he proves everyone wrong. Everyone you think he’s too small or he’s too old, he proves everyone wrong. I think if he can adjust to the weight of Canelo, I think he could be victorious."

Q: Do you have a message for any young girls taking up boxing?

Tiara Brown: "My message to all the young girls who are aspiring to be great champions in the future would be, to never give up. You’re gonna have roadblocks, you’re gonna have trials and tribulations, and sometimes the road is gonna be tough. But we are built for tough. Women are stronger than they think, we carry children, we have babies. We are stronger than we think but we live in a society where if someone hasn’t accomplished their dreams and goals, they look at other and tell what they can and can’t do.

"My entire career, I have been told I can’t do this, I can’t do that. And at the same time I have done everything that people said I couldn’t do. As far as my fight with Skye Nicolson, I was the underdog, big time. I was a major underdog and I was victorious because I had god with me at all time and all occasion. I’d tell every young girl, keep going, never give up, when you stumble and when you fall, stand up. Hold your head up, dust your shoulders up, and keep going."

The Latest Boxing News

DAZN PPV Prices For Canelo vs Scull And Garcia vs Romero Draw Mixed Reactions

Jake Paul Roasted By Boxing Fans Over 'Perfect' Next Opponent Julio Cesar Chavez Jr

Eddie Hearn Names The Biggest Draw In US Boxing After Canelo Alvarez And Gervonta Davis

Oscar De La Hoya Says Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda Fight Is On