Cherneka Johnson became a two-division world champion on Saturday night, yet the circumstances of the announcement of victory overshadowed the outcome. Lt. Dan Hennessey, the ring announcer, stated her opponent Nina Hughes had won the bout before correcting himself and announcing Johnson as the winner.
The 29-year-old Johnson, who previously held the IBF super bantamweight title, won a majority decision over the 41-year-old Hughes, at the RAC Arena, in Perth, Australia to claim the WBA bantamweight title.
The scores were 95-95, 96-94, and 98-92, with the two deciding scores for Johnson.
Johnson (16-2, 6 KOs) who was fighting at home in Australia had a subdued celebration as her title win was overshadowed by confusion. Hughes (6-1, 2 KOs) and her team felt wronged and want a rematch immediately.
“I had mixed emotions because I had [the victory] taken away, but to be a new two-time world champion is pretty amazing,” Johnson said at the post-fight press conference. “It would have been a real shit position to be in, to be announced the winner and be called back, you are not the winner and you lose your belt. So I do feel for her, but for me, I do believe I won that fight.”
According to CompuBox, Johnson landed more but didn’t throw as much as Hughes. Johnson landed 167 out of 520 punches in the 10-round fight compared to Hughes’ 133 out of 570. Johnson outlanded Hughes in six of the 10 rounds ,according to CompuBox, and had a big edge in terms of total jabs landing 97 jabs out of 311, whereas Hughes landed 37 out of 261.
“I overheard that it was the wrong decision,” Johnson said, about when she was called back to the middle of the ring. “I sort of knew what I was expecting.”
Johnson explained that she is not opposed to a rematch, but also left it up to her team to decide what is next.
“If there is a rematch, there is a rematch,” Johnson said.
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