Former US police officer Tiara Brown beats Skye Nicolson to become WBC featherweight champion

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SYDNEY (AP) — Former police officer Tiara Brown became WBC world featherweight champion by beating Skye Nicolson in a split-decision victory on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Brown took Nicolson’s belt when judges scored the bout 97-93 and 96-94 in her favor, with one judge scoring it 96-94 for Nicolson.

Brown (19-0) dropped to the canvas in tears when she was announced as the winner. It was the first professional loss for Nicolson (12-1), an Australian.

Brown had been an officer both in the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C. and more recently for the Fort Myers Police Department in her native Florida.

The Fort Myers PD had wished Brown good luck ahead of the 10-round bout, saying on Instagram that she “has always been a fighter — both in and out of the ring.”

Brown is a boxing coach with the Fort Myers police athletic league.

Speaking ringside to broadcaster DAZN, Brown gave a shoutout to God and her hometown of Fort Myers and said it's been “20-plus years of wanting this moment.”

The new champion said she's not focused yet on her next bout.

“I like my options, my options are good, (but) right now I just want to go home and eat some cupcakes and some cookies and watch some cartoons,” Brown said.

The 29-year-old Nicolson had won the title last April in a unanimous-decision victory over Denmark’s Sarah Mahfoud in Las Vegas. She made two successful title defenses before facing Brown.

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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing