Tiara Brown has been a very good boxer for a very long time. But, in this sport, being very good at your craft doesn’t guarantee you’ll get what you earned.

And despite 18 wins without a loss, a slate that includes 11 knockouts, Brown was often on the outside looking in, wondering when the phone would ring with an offer for a world title fight.

“There were days where I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, how much longer?’” she said. “But, at the end of the day, I knew that God had a plan for my life. And when a lot of my friends would ask me, ‘Aren't you tired of getting overlooked? Why don't you just retire from boxing and just continue to coach?’ I would say, it's not my timing. I know God did not bless me with this great ability to be such a good fighter to never give me the opportunity to fight for a world title. I just knew that he would not do that. And I know that this is the time that I was waiting on, this is the time that he had planned for me. And when God is on, God is always on time.”

Brown’s time has come. On March 22, she will be in Sydney, Australia, getting her overdue shot at a world championship when she faces fellow unbeaten Skye Nicolson for the Aussie’s WBC featherweight crown. It’s been a long time coming, but Brown’s been ready. The fight will be broadcast globally on DAZN.

“I know that I will be victorious in this fight because I sat back, patiently waiting,” she said. “I never took off from boxing. I train every single day, two to three times a day. I never put anything before boxing. And I just know that with all this hard work that I've been doing for all these years, there's just no way I will not be victorious.”

There’s a joy in Brown’s voice when she talks of the fight she’s wanted, even though there is a sense that this one is a little personal, given Nicolson’s meteoric rise to the top of the 126-pound weight class. A 2020 Olympian, Nicolson has checked all the boxes when it comes to becoming a legit star in the sport, and since winning the interim belt in her eighth fight in 2023, she’s only gotten better while beating legit competition like Sarah Mahfoud and Raven Champman.

Brown has been watching the whole time and isn’t necessarily impressed.

“I didn't take the easy route,” she said. “That wasn't available for me. As far as Skye, I feel that the easy route was available for her. She fought for titles when she had seven fights. We always talk about wanting equality in boxing, but men can't do that. Men can't fight for world titles after having five and six fights, but they allow women to do it and they should not allow that. But they do. And being 18-0 now with 11 knockouts, I know that 2025 is my year. I'm coming to take that belt.”

If the 36-year-old - a 2012 gold medal winner in the world championships as an amateur and a three-time U.S. National champion – gets her wish, she’ll be happy and satisfied. But having a victory over Nicolson in her backyard would make her smile even wider.

“I get selling a fight, but she said a lot of things about me that people will send me, saying that I've never fought on a big world stage,” said Brown. “I'm a world gold medalist. Fighting in China, that stadium was outrageous, like a Super Bowl times two. And I won the gold. Out of every country, I was number one in the world. So for her to say that, clearly she doesn't know anything about me, but then for her to say I'm old, I'm slow, she's going to retire me and that I've never done anything in the sport of boxing, I just find it hard to believe she's really saying these things. I've been through so much in my career and I've always had to take the tough road. But at the end of the day, I'm glad because it taught me how to overcome adversity.”

There will be more adversity fighting in front of Nicolson’s home country crowd as the outsider trying to spoil the party, but the former police officer has left no stone unturned in her quest to score the upset, and she believes that when the dust settles on fight night, even the judges won’t be a factor.

“Through all my years of being on Team USA, through all my years of being a professional fighter, I fought whoever was in front of me and I've never had to showcase the full me,” said Brown. “I've never had to go in my bag, I've never had to bring out everything that I have. But, for this fight, I will not because I think Skye is the best opponent I will ever fight because I do not think that. But I think that I will have to go in my bag because I'm fighting Skye, I'm fighting Australia, I'm fighting the judges, I'm fighting all of those things, not just her. And I know I'll be victorious. I have grit as a police officer. I've been through things. I've seen things I've had to overcome. Physical things, mental things, emotional things, things that I know she's never had to go through.”

Nicolson has gone through her share of heartache, specifically the loss of her brothers Jamie and Gavin in a car crash the year before she was born. But as a pro, Brown is right, Nicolson has not been forced to go into deep waters yet. That’s a testament to her talent, but eventually, there will be that opponent who will bring her to those dark places in the ring. Brown plans on being that opponent.

“During those later rounds, we all know what Skye does,” said Brown. “She pop shots, she runs, and she fights very amateurish. Her style is very amateur, it's lackluster and it's boring. And I know that that's what she plans on doing. That's what she's always done in all of her fights, amateur and professional. But I'm not going to allow her to. She said that I don't have footwork, that I'm slow. Well, this camp, I've sparred against some of the best southpaws in the DMV area and they were all told to fight exactly like her. So, for this entire camp, I've gotten very used to cutting off the ring and closing the distance against someone who's trying to run. We know she's going to do that because she doesn't want to fight. And I think it's going to be a tough night for Skye because she's never fought anyone like me. I know that to be a fact.”

There’s that joy again. And confidence, and determination, and the faith that her patience will be rewarded. If it does, well, that’s a feel-good story for everyone, especially Tiara Brown.

“Some people just don't understand,” she said. “I've been boxing since I was 13. It's been my passion. It's been my dream. Some fighters take off a year, take off two years. Some fighters don't even train until they have a fight date. I train 365 days out of the year. I train on Christmas, I train on Easter, I train on Halloween, I train on my birthday. There are no off days because I have a goal and I have a dream and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to obtain that goal and that dream.”