Mariah Turner

Bio

Mariah Turner is one of the most quietly improved fighters in women's super-bantamweight boxing. The South Auckland-based Kiwi rebuilt her career after a 2024 defeat to Ellie Bouttell by stringing together seven straight wins, the most recent of which was a unanimous-decision victory over the previously undefeated Stephanie Lee Cutting in November 2025. Her record now reads 12-1 with 6 knockouts, and she has earned the trans-Tasman shot at Skye Nicolson the hard way.

Stylistically, Turner is a pressure fighter with a high work-rate and a willingness to trade in close. She is not the biggest puncher in her division, but the six knockouts are deceptive — most of her stoppages come from accumulated punishment rather than one-shot finishes. She walks opponents down, takes one to land two, and lets the body shots wear them down before going to the head in the later rounds. It is an old-school style executed with new-school conditioning.

Turner's challenge for the interim WBC super-bantamweight title against Skye Nicolson on April 29 at the Melbourne Pavilion is the biggest opportunity of her career. Nicolson is a southpaw stylist with the longer reach, the jab, and the home crowd. Turner is the underdog. But she is the underdog with a path — close the distance, force exchanges, make Nicolson uncomfortable in the pocket — and she has the conditioning to maintain that style across a full ten rounds.

If she wins on April 29, Turner walks into the undisputed conversation at 122lb alongside Tiara Brown, Ellie Bouttell, and Ellie Scotney. If she loses competitively, she announces herself on the world stage. Either way, this is the night that defines whether Mariah Turner is a regional contender or a genuine world-level threat.