Tiara Brown, a 36-year-old former Florida police officer, upsets Australian Skye Nicolson to win WBC featherweight title

Former police officer Tiara Brown became WBC world featherweight champion by beating Skye Nicolson in a split-decision victory on Saturday in Australia.

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), a 29-year-old Australian, who had been a heavy favorite to win the match.