Johnson vs Scotney: Big Fight Preview & Prediction
By Matt Elliott
A month on from when it should have taken place, Ellie Scotney finally gets her chance to become a world champion this weekend, as she faces Cherneka Johnson for the IBF super-bantamweight title at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
The fight was originally scheduled for the undercard of Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron, only for it to be later rescheduled due to an ongoing dispute between Cameron and the trainer of Scotney, Shane McGuigan. You have to feel, though, that it was only a case of delaying the inevitable, with Scotney a clear favourite in the pre-fight betting.
It will be Scotney’s seventh professional fight, and since her professional debut against Bec Connolly in October 2020, you always felt this opportunity would come around sooner rather than later. She has already collected the WBA Inter-Continental and EBU European belts en route to this fight, but now she seeks the ultimate accolade.
In Johnson, she faces a sixteen-fight veteran, who has just one defeat to her name, a 2021 loss to fellow Australian Shannon O’Connell. It was on the back of that fight that Johnson captured the vacant IBF title, defeating Melissa Esquivel, and she has made one successful defence to date, a unanimous points victory over Susie Ramadan. It was during that fight that Johnson suffered a nasty cut to her forehead, which forced her into a spell on the sidelines as she looked to make a full recovery.
On paper, Johnson has the power advantage, with six of her fifteen victories ending within the distance. The champion is likely to force the pace in the early stages and look to drag Scotney into a dogfight, but that is something that Shane McGuigan will have prepared her for. I fully expect Scotney to come through the first couple of rounds and then begin to work her way into the fight, using her superior boxing brain to work her opportunities and countering Johnson to good effect, ultimately frustrating the champion and taking a unanimous points decision.
Prediction: Ellie Scotney wins by unanimous decision to become the new IBF super-bantamweight champion.
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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