Cherneka Johnson is Australia's newest world boxing champion after winning by split decision over Mexican Melissa Esquivel in their title fight at the Melbourne Convention Centre on Wednesday night.
Johnson clinched the vacant IBF world super bantamweight title in a 10-round duel on the same card as the middleweight world title eliminator between Michael Zerafa and Issac Hardman.
One judge scored Esquivel as the winner 96-95 while the others gave New Zealand-born Johnson the win 96-94 and 97-93.
Johnson's superior fitness appeared to win out in the end, with her hard-hitting rival hampered by a knee injury.
With a record now at 14-1-0, Johnson used her jab to keep peppering her opponent while also managing to land some heavy blows in a quality fight.
