(photo by Jim Kambosos social media)

Things are breaking bad for Terry Nickolas in and out of the ring. 

The 29-year-old junior middleweight—who is managed by Jim Kambosos and fights under the Ferocious Promotions banner—was arrested Tuesday for his alleged role as part of a methamphetamine manufacturing operation out of the Morphett Vale suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.

Nickolas—whose birth name is Eleftherios Nickolas—was formally charged Wednesday with manufacturing large quantities of meth as part of the ongoing Operation Ironside operation conducted by Australian Federal Police which has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests worldwide, including 383 in Australia.

Magistrate Edward Stratton-Smith granted a request from Nickolas’ legal team to be released and placed under house arrest, after the prosecution did not object upon receiving assurance that it came under strict conditions.

According to a report from The Advertiser newspaper in his Adelaide birth town, the Sydney-based boxer was identified by authorities as a member of the controversial Comancheros Motorcycle Club, an outlaw biker gang in Australia. Authorities claim that Nickolas still travels to and from Adelaide, for reasons including but not limited to assisting other gang members in manufacturing the controlled substance out of the meth lab in a Morphett Vale home. The boxer was the tenth party charged in direct connection with the meth lab which was discovered by authorities in August 2020.

Court reports indicate that Nickolas could face additional charges. Such a fate is pending a review of literally millions of messages through AN0M, a Trojan horse disguised as a smartphone-based messaging application utilized by authorities to monitor conversations among targeted organized crime groups in Australia.

Nickolas will appear in court at the end of the month, to determine future court hearings and if additional charges are filed.

Nickolas’ arrest comes less than three weeks after a disappointing six-round draw with Lachlan Higgins on a June 5 show in Melbourne.

The bout was on the undercard of promotional stablemate George Kambosos’s twelve-round, unanimous decision defeat to Devin Haney in their undisputed lightweight championship. Nickolas (2-1-1, 2KOs) has served as a proud member of Kambosos’ team, even holding the boxer’s now-former Ring magazine lightweight championship prior to the fight.

Nickolas turned pro in December 2020, more than two years after his quarterfinal finish at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. His well-regarded amateur career ended with a three-round defeat to Jason Mallia in the 2019 Australian National Championships finals in the 69 kg. division.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox