ELLIE SCOTNEY became the new IBF world super bantamweight champion after beating Cherneka Johnson via unanimous decision at Wembley Arena.
Scotney had been planning to take on the champion from Australia last month on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s clash with Chantelle Cameron in Dublin.
However, due to the history between Cameron and Scotney’s trainer Shane McGuigan, the 25-year-old was removed from the card.
And she did not let the disruption affect her as she boxed beautifully en route to this victory over the game Johnson to rip the belt from her grasp and become Britain’s sixth female world champion.
Scotney also becomes the second new world champion from McGuigan’s gym in as many weeks following Chris Billam-Smith’s victory to claim the WBO cruiserweight title from Lawrence Okolie in Bournemouth a fortnight ago.
The former B&Q worker’s achievement comes in only her seventh fight after she turned professional during the UK lockdown for COVID 19.
She has been moved quickly by promoter Eddie Hearn and proved she is more than ready for this level due to the nature of this all-action performance.
She made a lively start, as did Johnson, who paid homage to her New Zealand roots by using a Haka as part of her ring walk. They both settled quickly and there was not much to choose between them early on.
However Scotney began to pull away as she landed the more eye-catching shots, switching attack from head to body and staying out of any real trouble herself.
She poured on the pressure in the sixth as she went in search of the first stoppage of her career but it was her head that opened up a nasty cut over Johnson’s right eye as she looked to slip inside.
The wound immediately streamed with blood but the Australian’s corner did a fine job in cleaning it up and it did not affect her for the remaining rounds.
However she was still unable to claw back the deficit and deny Scotney from becoming world champion just a few miles away from her home in Catford. Phil Edwards and Waleska Roldan both made Scotney a 98-92 winner while Carl Zappia scored it 97-93 in her favor.
After that, Johnny Fisher required just 127 seconds to dispatch the hopeless Emilio Salas to move to 9-0 with eight quick.
Fisher is hoping to prove himself along the likes of British champion Fabio Wardley, Frazer Clarke and David Adeleye in the future but beating the likes of Salas, who failed to answer the count after the first knockdown, will do little in that pursuit.
But the Romford Bull and his legion of noisy fans march on towards a likely shot at the vacant southern arena heavyweight title in his next outing.