Saturday was one of those nights that reminds you women’s boxing has become the most compelling story in the sport. In Orlando, Australia lost six world titles in the span of about 90 minutes — Cherneka Johnson’s four bantamweight belts and Desley Robinson’s two at middleweight — while at Dublin’s 3Arena, Ireland crowned a new hero. Three world champions in one evening, two of them women, and every result made sense by the final bell.
Thorslund’s Redemption Is Complete
Dina Thorslund is the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world. A little more than a year after vacating her WBC and WBO titles because she was pregnant, the Dane returned and shut out Cherneka Johnson on the scorecards, winning a unanimous decision at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando on the MVPW-05 card. Nine’s live blog reported a 100-90 card; ESPN’s headline called it exactly what it was — a shutout.
Johnson, who had unified all four belts herself, simply had no answers. Thorslund was the stronger fighter from the opening bell, walked the Australian down, and never let the champion get comfortable. Watching her climb back to the top after stepping away to have a baby is the kind of arc boxing rarely hands you. It’s one of the best redemption stories of the year, in any division, men’s or women’s.
Thibeault Puts the Middleweight Division on Notice
The co-main event was nearly as significant. Tamm Thibeault won the IBF and WBO middleweight titles in just her fifth professional fight, shutting out Desley Robinson in a unanimous decision. Thibeault is 5-0 with three knockouts, and at 29 she’s still an active amateur — she competed at the World Boxing Cup in China back in June.
She went past the fifth round for the first time as a pro, worked through a bloody nose from an accidental clash of heads, and never looked close to losing a round. Robinson was seriously hurt in the very first frame. For a fighter with this little professional mileage, the poise was remarkable.
Now comes the question everyone wants answered: is she a real threat to Claressa Shields? Shields returns on August 15 in Atlanta against Kaye Scott for the WBC and WBA middleweight titles, and if she wins, the two are on a collision course. My honest read: Thibeault is bigger, younger and a sharper puncher than anyone Shields has faced in years — the first fighter since Savannah Marshall I’d give even a remote chance. But Shields is three steps ahead of everyone. The fight needs to happen while Thibeault’s stock is at its peak, and the friction between MVP and Shields may be the only thing that stops it.
McKenna Delivers on Home Soil
Aaron McKenna is the new IBF middleweight champion of the world. In his first professional fight in Ireland, the Monaghan man outworked Etinosa Oliha over 12 rounds to take a clear unanimous decision — 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110 — at Zuffa Boxing 10 in Dublin. He’s now 21-0 with 10 knockouts.
I previewed McKenna vs Oliha on Friday and picked McKenna by decision, expecting his engine to be the difference in the championship rounds. It played out exactly that way. McKenna leaned on his physicality, bullied the Italian, and never let Oliha build a rhythm. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective — the smart, disciplined performance of a fighter who believes he’s the best in a thin division.
The IBF belt had been vacant since Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped over a failed drug test, and with Carlos Adames possibly headed to super middleweight, the 160-pound class is McKenna’s to own. On the undercard, Callum Walsh rolled past Tyler Denny by unanimous decision, keeping the Dublin homecoming a clean sweep.
The Week in Boxing News
Joseph Parker is free to fight again. UK Anti-Doping confirmed Thursday that the former heavyweight champion has served his three-month suspension, with the positive test traced back to his nutritionist’s cocaine use. Parker returns just as the heavyweight picture keeps churning.
Two sobering notes from the week: British boxer Raven Chapman, 32, underwent emergency surgery for a bleed on the brain after collapsing following a sparring session in Denmark — hoping for a full recovery — and Skye Nicolson was forced out of her August 29 bout with Miyo Yoshida on the MVPW-06 card in Birmingham due to injury.
On the brighter side, Jai Opetaia will face WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian on September 12 in Las Vegas on the Garcia-Benn card. William Zepeda, meanwhile, keeps climbing the lightweight rankings after claiming the WBC crown.
Filipino Corner: Santisima’s Big Test in Tokyo
The Filipino calendar heats up again this Sunday. Alex Santisima (13-2, 7 KOs) steps up against former IBF super-bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni in a 10-rounder at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo — and he’s the lone Filipino on the Treasure Boxing card.
Oguni is a dangerous assignment. He’s 37 and ranked No. 6 by the WBO, and in April he outpointed Marlon Tapales, the Filipino former unified champion, by unanimous decision in Tokyo. There’s history in this matchup. Santisima, 26, rides a two-fight knockout streak — he stopped Jelo Bacalso in December and knocked out Richard Pumicpic in Nagoya in June — and this is his third fight on Japanese soil.
Beat Oguni and Santisima jumps years of rankings in one night. Lose, and it’s the harsh math of the fight game. This is exactly the kind of test Filipino prospects need, and I’ll be watching for Korakuen Hall’s first bell.
Looking Ahead
The next two weeks are loaded:
- August 12 — Teremoana Teremoana vs. DeAndre Savage, heavyweights, Gold Coast, Australia (DAZN)
- August 15 — Claressa Shields vs. Kaye Scott, WBC/WBA middleweight titles, Atlanta (DAZN)
- August 21 — Amanda Serrano vs. Lucrecia Manzur, WBA/WBO featherweight titles, Temecula (TikTok LIVE)
- August 22 — Rolly Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez pay-per-view
- August 29 — Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight title, London (DAZN)
- September 12 — Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn in Las Vegas, with Opetaia-Mikaelian on the undercard
If you’re Filipino like me, this stretch is especially sweet. Women’s boxing is finally getting the platform it deserves, a Filipino prospect is taking his biggest swing in Tokyo, and the heavyweight division is wide open again. Nights like Saturday are why I fell in love with this sport — the drama, the redemption arcs, the certainty that any given night can crown a new king. Or queen.
Sources: ESPN, Bad Left Hook, ESPN on Parker, SunStar Cebu, Nine.com.au, BBC Sport, Sporting News, Cebu Daily News