Ellie Scotney Defeats Sugar Neekz Johnson for IBF Title, Hughes Wins Too

By David A. Avila

British fighters walked away with two titles on Saturday.

England’s highly profiled Ellie Scotney achieved expectations in defeating New Zealand’s Cherneka “Sugar Neekz” Johnson for the IBF super bantamweight title on Saturday in England.

Every round was contentious.

“I’m so happy,” said Scotney to DAZN reporters. “I’ll be honest. It was one of my best performances.”

Scotney (7-0) proved she could transition from amateur star to pro champion in front of her hometown London crowd over Johnson (15-2, 6 Kos) at Wembley Arena for the IBF title on the Matchroom Boxing card.

And she did on the inside.

The champion Johnson showed a sharp accurate jab in the early going that kept Scotney looking for an effective attack. She found one midway through the fight after consistently attacking the body.

In the sixth round a clash of heads opened up a cut on Johnson, who suffered a severe cut in an earlier title fight. This laceration was not as bad but still seemed to bother Johnson.

Every time Scotney dove in with her head it seemed to upset Johnson who became conscious of the British fighter’s head. That opened up Scotney’s attack and she mounted up rounds.

Johnson never quit and after losing momentum she began to attack with combinations that stopped Scotney’s attacks. Still, every round was close with neither proving dominant.

Fighting in front of a hometown crowd Scotney had the advantage as fans cheered her every connect. Johnson worked the body toward the end but needed to hurt Scotney. That never happened as the former amateur star proved she could fight inside.

Neither fighter was ever hurt by the other but Scotney seemed to do just a little more and was the aggressor. That proved important to the judges who scored the fight 98-92 twice and 97-93 for Scotney who becomes the new IBF world titlist.

“There’s a new kid on the block,” said Scotney.

WBA champ Nina Hughes Beats Katie Healy

WBA bantamweight titlist Nina Hughes shut down the taller Katie Healy early on behind stellar defense and effective counter rights.

It was the first defense of her WBA world title and Hughes (6-0, 2 Kos) proved to be a level or two above replacement and much taller Healy (6-1) who stepped in for Shannon Courtenay who suffered an injury and could not fight.

“We were working on getting close and working the body,” said Hughes, 40. “I didn’t work the body as much as I wanted to.”

Still, Hughes proved quicker to the punch and more agile in avoiding the long reach of Healy. Her bobs and weaves through jabs and counters were the difference round after round.

Healy gained some traction after deciding to become less cautious and engaged in close. That made the rounds more contentious but were not enough to offset the quicker hands of Hughes.

“She was tough,” said Hughes who defeated Jamie Mitchell for the title last November.