And the fighter dubbed Sugar Neekz is confident of punching her way into said title blockbuster against Galle, a rival who she stresses \u201cdoesn\u2019t have any power whatsoever\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Thorslund vacated both the WBO and WBC straps after falling pregnant, only to then tragically suffer a miscarriage.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760217130_889_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
And with the former champ now aiming for a return to the ring early next year, Johnson knows a massive showdown against the Dane \u2013 who remains sixth on The Ring\u2019s pound-for-pound rankings \u2013 will only help aid her push to earn a $1 million purse from her new promoter, MVP.<\/p>\n
Cherneka Johnson (black trunks) celebrates her TKO win over Shurretta Metcalf (blue trunks) during their undisputed bantamweight world championship bout at Madison Square Garden on July 11, 2025 in New York City. Ed Mulholland\/Getty Images\/AFP (Photo by Ed Mulholland \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
Incredibly, this latest showdown also doubles as the second in only four months since the 30-year-old signed on with Paul\u2019s promotional company, MVP.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now I\u2019m fighting on the same night as Jake Paul versus Tank Davis,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis is a massive card and there will be so many eyeballs on my fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys from MVP have removed so much stress from my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no waiting around for fights now, or being unsure about what is going to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being valued as a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia back in August, and shortly after claiming all four straps, the fighter dubbed \u2018Sugar Neekz\u2019 welcomed potential world title blockbusters against the likes of Thorslund, Gabriela Fundora, even Australia\u2019s previous boxing queen – Ebanie Bridges – as she pushes to earn a $1 million payday.<\/p>\n
Apart from becoming the first Australian fighter to go undisputed since Kostya Tszyu, Johnson now wants to make history again \u2013 by defending on the Netflix headliner.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I feel like I still have so much to prove,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I still haven\u2019t shown the best of myself as a fighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I see myself as being up there with the best fighters in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019ve proved that. I\u2019ve gone and taken all the belts \u2014 become undisputed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I still have much more to do. And I don\u2019t want all this to be a one-off thing, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear people saying \u2018oh, she won all the titles once, but that was it\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to create a title reign now \u2026 I want to create a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cherneka Johnson celebrates defeating Shurretta Metcalf in their IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring bantamweight title bout during Netflix’s Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 at Madison Square Garden on July 11, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images for Netflix)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Asked how her next six months could look, Johnson continued: \u201cI\u2019m not wanting to look too far ahead but I do know they [MVP] want the Dina Thorslund fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, she\u2019s had some stuff happen and now she\u2019s looking to come back.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants her belts back and that\u2019s a massive fight for women\u2019s boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know when it will be, but I know that would be the next match up for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s an incredibly competitive fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut while she is getting older now, I\u2019m only just coming into my prime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have similar styles and that\u2019s going to create a really exciting fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about her upcoming rival however, and Johnson stresses she will be ready to win big in her third title fight of the year — having won all four straps against Shurretta Metcalf in July, and WBA gold in her March rematch with Nina Hughes.<\/p>\n
Galle last fought, and won, last month, winning a lopsided decision against Mexico\u2019s Alondra Mendoza.<\/p>\n
Yet while the Canadian\u2019s only career blemish is a 2022 draw, the Aussie insisted she would be too strong for the 36-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched Amanda\u2019s last fight and she throws lots of punches and creates really good angles,\u201d Johnson started. \u201cBut she doesn\u2019t have any power whatsoever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich isn\u2019t to say I\u2019m underestimating her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I know she will be a tough challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m also extremely confident of winning this fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an all-round fighter who can box, fight on the inside, whatever.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd with her not having any power, I\u2019ll be able to walk through her punches.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo whatever she brings on fight night, we\u2019ll counter it.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a statement released via MVP however, Galle stressed she was ready to upset Australia\u2019s Baddest Woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve put my time in,\u201d said the challenger, who is also promoted by MVP.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been hanging out in the coattails of these big names, working in silence, and I\u2019ve earned a spot at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best promotion in the world has put me on their roster and I want a shot at the best out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the undisputed bantamweight champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanada knows it, now the world\u2019s about to.\u201d<\/p>\n
STATEMENT KO! Wilson floors opponent | 01:44<\/p>\n
Already, 30-year-old Johnson has talked up a huge range of lucrative fight opportunities – with potential rivals including Thorslund, Fundora, even fellow Australians Bridges and Skye Nicolson.<\/p>\n
Dubbed the Blonde Bomber, 38-year-old Bridges was a former champion in the division and has also signed with MVP.<\/p>\n
After recently giving birth to her first child, the former Sydney school teacher is now readying for a return to the ring for the first time since 2023 – when she lost the IBF bantamweight strap.<\/p>\n
Apart from sharing a promoter, Bridges and Johnson also both enjoy strong followings on social media and Only Fans.<\/p>\n
Back in 2022, Bridges\u2019 all-Australian showdown with Shannon O\u2019Connell was the year\u2019s second most read story on the Fox Sports Australia website, while Johnson has also made headlines for everything from bloody wars to wearing body paint at her world title weigh-in against Ellie Scotney.<\/p>\n
Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Jake Paul.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
So as for the two Aussie female stars now throwing down?<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that would be a huge fight,\u201d Johnson told us in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re both aggressive, come forward fighters, and our styles would make for a really entertaining bout.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, Ebanie is coming back from having a baby, so I don\u2019t know if she will go straight to bantamweight or maybe have a comeback fight at a heavier weight first.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that would be an entertaining fight and (with both) now signed with MVP, it\u2019s all incredibly exciting.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou only have to look at what\u2019s happening with fighters like Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano to see what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen now know they can make upwards of $1 million if they\u2019re fighting the right fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first you\u2019re thinking to yourself \u2018can this be real?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is real.<\/p>\n
\u201cKatie and Amanda have proved that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve done it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when you look at where I\u2019m at, the fights I can have \u2026 it\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s boxing queen Cherneka Johnson has been given the opportunity to emulate Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[2620,11860,11161,2095,64,63,689,130095,130091,130081,130079,79482,802,130080,2065,130085,2791,130090,130093,130086,130096,2057,130084,9216,61587,2105,2485,9225,100379,17734,8200,2022,130092,20516,2184,11850,1025,1736,2782,11876,130089,2041,2067,3583,677,701,119631,85,130088,21760,130082,130083,130078,3586,2614,130077,130094,2836,130087],"class_list":["post-211608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-all-australian-showdown","tag-amanda-serrano","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-champion","tag-australian-fighter","tag-bantamweight-straps","tag-bantamweight-world-championship","tag-body-paint","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-queen","tag-canada","tag-career-blemish","tag-central-america","tag-cherneka-johnson","tag-classic-heavyweight-showdown","tag-comeback-fight","tag-dina-thorslund","tag-europe","tag-female-stars","tag-fight-night","tag-gabriela-fundora","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-jake-paul","tag-jorge-santana","tag-joseph-parker","tag-katie-taylor","tag-london","tag-lucrative-fight-opportunities","tag-madison-square-garden-lp","tag-mexico","tag-michael-zerafa","tag-new-york","tag-new-zealand","tag-nick-walshaw","tag-nikita-tszyu","tag-nina-hughes","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-queensland","tag-school-teacher","tag-sports","tag-sydney-school","tag-title-fight","tag-title-reign","tag-undisputed-bantamweight-champion","tag-undisputed-bantamweight-world","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-wilson-floors-opponentboxing","tag-world-championship-bout","tag-world-title","tag-world-title-blockbusters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}