The evening’s chief support for Sunny Edwards Vs Andres Campos at Wembley Arena, London, brought a heavyweight clash between fast rising local hero Johnny Fisher and Puerto Rico’s Emilio Salas. The Bull Army were all on their feet in support, in what seemed to be the entire audience, to serenade the 6ft 4in heavyweight with “There is only one Johnny Fisher.”
The first round started with Fisher taking the center of the ring, waving his leading left hand to distract Salas. Fisher worked the body with Salas against the ropes within the first minute. A bullish Fisher went after his opponent quickly to the adulation of the Wembley Arena audience. Salas went down at the 2.07 mark of the 1st round as Fisher was in no mood for overtime. As soon as the away fighter felt the slightest hint of the Englishman’s power he was in survival mode. Fisher’s barrage of punches were not the cleanest but it was enough for Salas to say, no more. Fisher improves his record 9-0 (8 KOs). Salas fly’s back home with a record of 7-5-1, picking up a fourth KO against his name.
New Zealand’s Cherneka Johnson came to London to defend her IBF super bantamweight world title against Ellie Scotney in the challenger’s hometown. The bout was originally scheduled to be part of the Katie Taylor Vs Chantelle Cameron undercard in Dublin, at no fault of either fighter.
It is worth noting the spectacle Johnson walked out with. A Maori five strong pack that serenaded the confident Kiwi to the ring. The 1st round stared at a good pace, both leading behind the left jab. The 2nd started in the same vein. Scotney landed a good right hand upstairs after tending to go for body shots previously. A lot of activity form both women in the opening four minutes but it was Scotney who had taken the opening two rounds with a little more accuracy. The 3rd round saw Scotney start to land to the body more regularly as Johnson tried to counter to the head. Scotney drew a smile from the champion with another good body shot before the bell. The 4th brought a good round for Johnson, but yet again it was close to call. Described as ‘a blood and guts style fighter’ by her promoter Lou DiBella, Johnson’s movement was impressive during the world title fight. The second half of the fight started with a bang with Johnson receiving a cut above the right eye. Scotney smelt blood and went after the champion for the remaining 90 seconds. The pair gave everything in the 7th and 8th as the pace slowed with them both laying on each other's chest for large sections of the round. Scotney landed a big right hand 45 seconds into the 8th was the pick of the two rounds. Round 9 was again, tough to split with both canceling out each other's work. The 10th and final round Scotney came to center of the ring, Johnson was not far behind in a fight that saw neither woman take a backwards step all night. The scorecards read; 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 for Scotney to become the new IBF super bantamweight world champion. She improved her record to 7-0. Johnson picks up second career defeat sitting with a record of now 15-2 (6 KOs).
Cruiserweights Cheavon Clarke and David Jamieson met over 10 rounds in a British title eliminator. The title is currently held by Michael Lawal.
The 1st round started quickly with both me looking to land big shots, Clarke landing big with a right in the opening minute. Ass the pair came close to each other it Clarke that was winning the battles on the inside landing a handful of rights upstairs. The intention seemed clear from Clarke who rejected his stool after the opening three minutes. He landed another straight right to start the 2nd round, another good right hand hit Jamieson’s body one minute in. Clarke started to invest in more body shots as he started to get into his groove. Jamieson’s only real success so far was a timid yet connecting right hand two minutes into the round. Clarke’s dominance continued into the 3rd despite some added vigour from Jamieson. At 1.25 in the 4th Clarke landed a accurate right hand that sent his opponent to the canvass. Clarke grinned from ear-to-ear as he beat a bloodied Jamieson around the ring for the remainder of the round. The end seemed near for the man from Scotland, it took less than 30 seconds for Clarke to dispatch of Jamieson in the 5th with a right uppercut. Jamieson got to his feet, but referee Bob Williams called an end to the action. Clarke improves his already perfect record to 6-0 (5 KOs) to set up a shot at the British title. Jamieson goes back to Scotland with a record of 10-3 while picking up a second knockout defeat.
Kicking off the televised card live on DAZN saw Essex’s Nina Hughes defend her WBA bantamweight title against the undefeated Katie Healy.
The 1st round saw little action as the pair were both trying to work each other out for the opening two minutes. By the hallway point of round number 2 saw Hughes start to apply more pressure, it culminated in some good shots to both the body and upstairs. But the fight had hardly set fire at this point. A similar script continued into round 3 with Hughes on the front foot, whenever the cautious Healy had success it was countered by the champion. The 4th round opened with a much more assertive Healy landing a solid jab in the opening seconds but Hughes took back control with her work rate and a much more varied shot selection. Hughes gave away a considerable height and reach advantage. However, she would always find a way inside. The second half of the fight saw Hughes take more control, Healy had no response to the champion’s pressure all night. The scorecards read; 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 for Hughes to make a successful 1st defense of her world title improving her record to 6-0 (2 KOs). Healy picked up her first career defeat, moving her record to 6-1.
