(JULY 6) WBA World Bantamweight Champion Māori
Cherneka Johnson (Ngāti Ranginui) is now the second Māori boxer to be scheduled
for an undisputed world title as she fights at Madison Square Garden on July
12th, live on Netflix.
On July 27th NZT, two-division boxing world champion Lani Daniels will take on
Claressa Shields for the Undisputed World Heavyweight title in Little Caesars
Arena, Detroit, Michigan. However, Cherneka Johnson aims to steal the spotlight
as she is scheduled to fight in her own undisputed world title at Madison Square
Garden on July 12th NZT.
The WBA World Bantamweight champion, Cherneka Johnson, will be fighting for the
Undisputed World Bantamweight title against IBF World Bantamweight champion,
American Shurretta Metcalf. This will happen on Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano
undercard, which is promoted by the infamous Jake Paul.
The event is making history as it is an all-female boxing show at Madison Square
Garden, which will have three undisputed world titles, two unification world
titles and one interim world title on the fight card. Among those, of course, is
Cherneka Johnson.
New Zealand has never had a unified world champion, let alone an undisputed
world champion. The closest is Lani Daniels, who held the IBF Heavyweight and
IBF Light Heavyweight world titles at the same time at the end of 2023 before
she was forced to vacate one.
This fight was originally only for Johnson's WBA and Metcalf's IBF World titles,
however, the WBC and WBO unified world champion Dina Thorslund has recently
vacated her two world titles, making them up for grabs. An opportunity was
there, and the fight was upgraded to an undisputed world title.
Johnson, now a two-division world boxing champion, won her WBA world title back
in May 2024 against Nina Hughes, which was overshadowed by MC Lt Dan Hennessey
calling out the wrong winner. Johnson would defend the title back in March this
year against Nina Hughes, however, this time Johnson won by TKO.
Cherneka Johnson will also make history for being the first Maori and New
Zealand-born boxer to fight on a Netflix boxing show.
Her opponent, Shurretta Metcalf, won her IBF World title back in October 2024,
however, she is yet to defend the title.
Madison Square Garden is considered a dream venue for all boxers, as every
fighter aims to fight there. There have not been many New Zealand boxers who
have fought at Madison Square Garden, but the last one was Baby Nansen in 2018
against Mikaela Mayer on the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Jorge Linares world title
undercard. Before that, the last New Zealander to fight at Madison Square Garden
was Kali Meehan when he knocked out DaVarryl Williamson back in 2007.
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