Skye Nicolson will face Sarah Mahfoud for the vacant WBC World Featherweight title at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday April 6, live worldwide on DAZN.
Nicolson (9-0 1 KO) lands her first World title shot in Sin City, just over two years since making her professional debut in San Diego. The Australian has raced to #1 in the WBC rankings at 126lbs, and landed her first KO win in her last outing, stopping Lucy Wildheart in Dublin in November in the first defense of the interim title the 28 year old won in Mexico in September against Sabrina Perez.
Mahfoud (14-1 3 KOs) is looking to spoil the party and in turn become a two-time ruler at Featherweight. The Dane held the IBF title after being elevated from interim champion, and successfully defended it against Nina Meinke in April 2022, before losing to Amanda Serrano in Manchester, England in September 2022. The 34 year old is on a three-fight winning streak on home turf since that loss, picking up the WBC Silver title in March 2023 and successfully defending it in October, with an eight-round win in between.
“This means everything to me,” said Nicolson. “To fight for my first World title in the iconic boxing city of Las Vegas is truly special. It will be a proud moment for my family and my team – and on April 6, my lifelong dream of becoming a World Champion will finally become a reality.
“Ever since the first time I put on a pair of boxing gloves, I’ve worked tirelessly towards this moment. Capturing the prestigious green and gold WBC belt will be the first major step towards becoming the Undisputed champion. And the new!”
“It is a dream of mine to become a two-time World champion,” said Mahfoud. “And it is also a dream of mine to box in Las Vegas on the biggest stage. Skye Nicolson is a good fighter, but she’s not proven at world-level like me. I will teach her a lesson and show her the levels on April 6.”
Two more fights added to the card are led by Briton’s Olympic gold medal man Galal Yafai defending his WBC International Flyweight title against Agustin Mauro.
Yafai (6-0 4 KOs) is hunting the World champions at the weight, and the 2020 games king is sitting pretty in the rankings, most pertinently at #6 with the WBC as he defends the belt he won on debut in February 2022 for the fifth time in Las Vegas. The 31 year old will be looking to put the belt holders on notice on April 6, but that’s exactly what Mauro (21-1 15 KOs) is looking to do too. The Argentine has won three of his last four fights inside the distance, and the 26 year old is planning to derail Yafai’s journey to a World title.
“It’s great to be fighting in Las Vegas for the first time in my career, which is something all Brits dream of,” said Yafai. “I know that Agustin is confident and that’s perfect for me, I want someone that believes they can win, as that will bring the best out of me.
“I like my positioning in the rankings, and I really think that 2024 is the year that I can get my shot at a World title.”
“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” said Mauro. “I’m going to destroy Galal Yafai. This is my time. I’d like to thank Matchroom Boxing for giving me such a huge opportunity for my career. I’ve been working extremely hard alongside my trainer, Rodrigo Calabrese, to get a great victory in the United States.
“We’ve been studying Galal. He is a great boxer, but I have what it takes to win the WBC International title on April 6. This will be my first time in Las Vegas. I always dreamed about fighting in this great city and I’m not going to waste my opportunity.
“I want to make history for Argentinean boxing, and this is a great opportunity to do just that. The fight comes at a great time in my career. I’ve had 22 professional fights. The last one was in Argentina in January, and I again displayed my knockout power. This is what I want to show in Las Vegas. On April 6, the boxing world will know who ‘Avión’ Gauto is.”
The third fight added to the bill sees Marc Castro fight over ten rounds for the second time, as he meets Abraham Montoya at Super-Featherweight. Castro (11-0 8 KOs) boxed over the ten round distance for the first time in November in Los Angeles, but only needed seven of them to record an eighth win inside the distance. Montoya (22-5-1 14 KOs) is a vastly experienced operator, with 99 more rounds in the bank than his young foe, and the 29 year old Mexican will provide the toughest test to date for the Fresno talent.
Nicolson, Yafai and Castro are part of a big night of action in Las Vegas, topped by a double-header featuring two of Matchroom’s brightest stars. Richardson Hitchins (17-0 7 KOs) tops the bill as he takes on Gustavo Lemos (29-0 19 KOs) in a final elimination for the IBF World Super-Lightweight title, while Diego Pacheco (20-0 17 KOs) continues his assault on the Super-Middleweight division as he defends his WBC USA and WBO International titles against Shawn McCalman (15-0 7 KOs).
