Cherneka Johnson Becomes Two-Division Titlist Over Nina Hughes

Cherneka Johnson (16-2, 6 KOs) won the WBA bantamweight title with a majority decision against Nina Hughes (6-1, 2 KOs).

While one judge had it 95-95, the other two saw it 98-92 and 96-94 for Johnson. The clash was on the undercard of Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos Jr. at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Fight fans in the United States could catch the action live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Those in Australia could do so on Main Event and Kayo.

The ring announcer had incorrectly announced Hughes as the victor. A few seconds later, however, he called the fighters back to the centre of the ring to clarify that Johnson was indeed the winner of the fight. To be very clear, Johnson is the new WBA bantamweight world champion.

Cherneka Johnson Becomes Two-Division Titlist Over Nina Hughes

Fight Recap

Both women started to land early on with their swinging hooks. Hughes initially had more success with her power shots, landing at a higher volume. Johnson, who was the bigger of the two and a former super bantamweight champion, was able to use her size to her advantage as the fight went on.

Read More: Five Underrated Bantamweights to Watch Out for in 2024

As the rounds went on, Johnson started to land more and more. She was not deterred by the combinations thrown by Hughes. Johnson continued to come forward, landing jabs and hooks that kept the defending champion constantly on the back foot. By the final bell, Johnson had done enough to convince two of the judges that she was the deserved winner.

Undercard Results

Pedro Guevara (42-4-1, 22 KOs) won a split decision against Andrew Moloney (26-4, 16 KOs, 1 NC) in a 12-round super flyweight clash. While one judge saw it 116-113 for the Australian, the other two had it 115-113 for Guevara. Moloney, who appeared disgusted with the decision, claimed that he was fighting with a torn left bicep and announced that he was retiring from boxing.

Imam Khataev (7-0, 7 KOs) won via sixth-round technical knockout against Ricards Bolotniks (20-8-1, 8 KOs). The time of stoppage for this 10-round light heavyweight bout was 1:34. Bolotniks went down three times from body shots before referee Bill Seth waved off the fight.

Read More: Five Underrated Light Heavyweights to Watch Out for in 2024

Two heavyweight bouts, a 10-rounder between Joseph Goodall (10-2-1, 9 KOs) and Faiga Opelu (16-4-2, 12 KOs) and an eight-rounder pitting Hemi Ahio (21-1, 16 KOs) against Lucas Browne (31-5, 27 KOs), took place after the main event fight between Lomachenko and Kambosos.