Cherneka Johnson (born 3 March 1995) is a New Zealand Māori

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. Born in New Zealand, she represents Australia in international competition. She has been undisputed female bantamweight champion since July 2025 and previously held the IBF female super-bantamweight title.

Early life

Johnson was born in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to a family of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

(

Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not ext ...

) descent. She is the eldest of three, with one brother and one sister. In 2007, aged 11, she moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and settled on the Gold Coast. Johnson first tried boxing at a local PCYC in 2008 and soon after joined the Albert Boxing Club on the Gold Coast to train under Allan Nicolson Jr alongside future world champions Skye Nicolson and Che Kenneally. She moved to

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

in 2016 in pursuit of a professional boxing career and remained there until 2023 when she relocated back to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and settled on the Gold Coast where she trains in

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 6,491 people. History Coolangatta is situat ...

Amateur career

Johnson began her amateur boxing career in the in 2011 a few years after she moved to Australia. When fighting in international competitions she would represent Australia. In the four AIBA World Boxing Amateur Championships she has won the 2011 Junior World Championships, came 5th in the 2013 Youth World Championships and reached top 16 in the Elite World Championships in 2012 and 2014. She has won multiple National titles including three Australian national championships and three Golden Gloves championships. Johnson ended her amateur boxing career, competing in over 60 amateur boxing fights.

Amateur boxing titles

*2011 AIBA Women's Junior World Boxing Championships Games *2012 China Youth world championships *2014 China elite world championships *Five time Queensland State Champion *Three time Australian National Champion *Three time Golden Gloves Champion

Professional career

Johnson made her professional boxing debut in 2016 against Napaporn Ruengsuwan winning the fight by second round stoppage. After two more wins, Johnson ended 2016 with the fourth fight in her career, taking on Thailand boxer Ratsadaporn Khiaosopa. This was the second time in her career where Johnson won the fight by stoppage, but this time in the first round. After a successful 2017, Johnson last fight of the year was against Filipino boxer Gretel de Paz for the WBA Oceania Bantamweight title. Johnson won the fight by unanimous decision. A few months later, Johnson fought for the WIBA World bantamweight title against Thailand boxer Rungnapha Kaewkrachang. Johnson won the fight by stoppage. In August 2018, Johnson competed in her tenth professional boxing fight against Thailand boxer Siriphon Chanbuala. Johnson won the fight by second round Knockout. In March 2021, Johnson fought Shannon O'Connell for the WBA Gold World Bantamweight title losing by split decision. In April 2022, Johnson defeated Mexican boxer Melissa Esquivel by split decision to win the IBF World Super Bantamweight title, becoming the second Maori, third New Zealand female, fourth New Zealand born and seventh New Zealand citizen to win a major World boxing title. In October 2022, Johnson defended her world title against

Susie Ramadan Sunduz "Susie" Ramadan (born 10 April 1979) is an Australian professional boxer. She held the IBF female bantamweight title in 2011 and the WBC female bantamweight title from 2012 to 2014. Biography Ramadan was raised in the Western suburbs ...

on the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos Jr II undercard. Johnson won the fight by unanimous decision, becoming the first Maori World champion boxer to successfully defend a world title. In November 2022, Johnson signed with promoter

Lou DiBella Louis John DiBella Jr. is an American boxing promoter, minor league baseball team owner and television/film producer. Education DiBella was born in New York City, and he is a graduate of Regis High School later having continued his educatio ...

under DiBella Entertainment. On 10 June 2023, in London, England, Johnson lost her title to

Ellie Scotney Ellie Scotney (born 16 March 1998) is an English professional boxer and the unified super-bantamweight champion, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight title since June 2023, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) ...

by unanimous decision. Johnson became a two-time world champion when she defeated the previously unbeaten WBA female bantamweight World title holder Nina Hughes at the

RAC Arena Perth Arena (known commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainment ...

in Perth, Australia, on 12 May 2024 by majority decision. The victory was marred by confusion when ring announcer Dan Hennessey initially declared Hughes the winner before correcting himself and announcing Johnson as the victor. In the aftermath, the WBA made Hughes the mandatory challenger for the title and a rematch was scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia, on 22 March 2025. Johnson won by stoppage in the seventh round. In her sixth consecutive world title fight, Johnson faced Shurretta Metcalf for the undisputed female bantamweight title on 11 July 2025, at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York. She won by stoppage in the ninth round.

Media appearances

In 2022, Johnson competed on the reality competition series '' The Challenge: Australia''.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Cherneka 1995 births Living people New Zealand women boxers Ngāti Ranginui people Sportspeople from Tauranga Australian women boxers Boxers from the Gold Coast, Queensland Participants in American reality television series Māori world boxing champions New Zealand world boxing champions Women's International Boxing Association champions International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World Boxing Organization champions The Ring (magazine) champions World super-bantamweight boxing champions World bantamweight boxing champions 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen