Johnson retains WBA bantamweight belt, Kambosos earns title shot

Australian boxer Cherneka Johnson successfully defended her WBA bantamweight title by defeating British fighter Nina Hughes in a rematch. This bout was a repeat of their controversial title fight from May of last year, adding further anticipation to the contest.

Hughes was on the back foot for almost the entire fight, leading her corner to call off the bout 46 seconds into the seventh round of the Saturday night fight in Sydney. This technical knockout victory improved Johnson's professional record to 17 wins out of 19 fights, while also settling the score with Hughes definitively.

Hughes (6-2, 2 KOs) was extremely unhappy with the verdict of their previous fight 10 months ago in Perth. She was initially announced as the winner, but then the announcer declared Johnson the winner by majority decision. However, this time Johnson left no opportunity for the judges to intervene, securing a clear victory through her dominance.

"No doubt about it," Johnson said after the fight. "This is the moment I've been waiting for. I kept saying it was going to be a clear and convincing win. We wanted to land more clean shots, but just shutting her space down, not letting her punch and move, that worked for me. Obviously, I'm the bigger, stronger girl at bantamweight, and those extra punches eventually got the job done."

However, while Johnson celebrated her victory, another Australian boxer, Skye Nicolson, lost her featherweight world title to American fighter Tiara Brown. After 10 epic rounds of intense fighting, Brown defeated Nicolson by split decision, ending her undefeated record. One judge scored it 96-94 to Nicolson, another 96-94 to Brown, and the third 97-93 to Brown. Brown won the WBC belt and maintained her undefeated record of 19 professional fights.

George Kambosos earned another shot at a world title by defeating fellow Australian Blake Minto by unanimous decision in a super-lightweight clash. Minto posed a significant threat to Kambosos, nearly derailing the former unified lightweight world champion's highly anticipated return to the ring. Ultimately, the judges scored the fight 117-111, 117-111, and 115-113 in favor of Kambosos.

Kambosos' ambition to become a two-division world champion was challenged in the ninth round when he suffered a cut above his eye. However, he ultimately proved to be more cunning than his fearless opponent. Minto accepted the fight just five days in advance after Kambosos' original opponent, Indonesian senator Daud Yordan, withdrew due to medical reasons.

"I would have loved to have knocked him out [Minto]," Kambosos said. "He came prepared, a true 140-pound Australian champion. That's why he got the opportunity, so credit to him. But a win is a win, and I won it quite dominantly on points."

Kambosos' victory paves the way for a world title fight against undefeated IBF super-lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins, setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown.