JUST moments after her win over Shurretta Metcalf, in the final bout of the Taylor-Serrano preliminary portion, Cherneka Johnson needed a little assistance holding up all of her belts. Luckily, the newest vocal champion of the female code, Jake Paul, was on hand to lighten her load.
While it’s probably the only time the ever-improving head of MVP will hold such lofty silverware, he is at least helping an aspiring group to achieve their goals. ‘Sugar Neekz’, for example, is now the first undisputed ruler in the bantamweight division, male or female, of the four-belt era.
“I envisioned this moment. So I already feel like I’ve been here before,” said Johnson, mere minutes after stopping the overmatched Metcalf in round nine.
“This is my moment and I get to share it with my team and to be on this amazing card, representing women’s boxing, to be a part of MVP, to showcase women in boxing.”
And showcase she did, producing a dominant display of powerful punch-picking that left Metcalf mostly stumbling around the ring on jelly legs, trying to find shelter in the Cherneka storm.
The 30-year-old Aussie, originally from New Zealand, has shown in recent outings that she is so much more than the titillating stunts she pulled early in her career for attention. She’s now gaining attention for her fistic prowess.
“This is just the beginning. I’m evolving every fight and I’ve got so much more to show,” added Johnson, clearly overcome by the MSG moment, paying tribute to Metcalf’s bravery.
“I feel, yeah, she was a very tough, great opponent. She had a long jab, but I was listening to my team very well. If I put on the gas a little bit more maybe, in the fifth or sixth round, I could have stopped her earlier, but we got the job done.”
Arriving as one of the late additions to the card, when original Metcalf opponent Dina Thorslund withdrew pregnant, Cherneka took the opportunity with both gloves, delivering a show-stopping performance and making history. Promoter Jake Paul was suitably impressed.
“Crikey, what a performance that was,” agreed Paul. “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Let’s go, the first-ever Australian undisputed champion. This is a superstar right here. She just put the world on notice, and I’m just happy to push her. This is just the start, like she said.”
Thanking Paul and the wider MVP team, Johnson is on a mission to repay that faith and add to her bank balance, if not her belt collection, seeing as there are no more to collect.
“I’m ready to back it up. I want to fight. I love to fight. I want to keep improving, keep working with my team,” she concluded.
