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"Is this guy for real?" 

That's what ESPN commentator Joe Tessitore uttered — and what the majority of viewers were likely thinking — when Dan Hennessey made the ultimate mistake as a ring announcer by reading out the wrong winner for the Cherneka Johnson vs. Nina Hughes WBA bantamweight title fight this past May in Perth, Australia.

In a bewildering moment, Hennessey initially announced that Hughes had retained her title via a 95-95, 96-94 and 98-92 majority decision — a surprising outcome as many felt Johnson did enough to have her hand raised. But just 30 seconds later, Johnson's hand was raised. Hennessey called the fighters back to the ring to announce the same set of scorecards, except this time with the correct winner.

"Lieutenant" Hennessey ultimately chose to retire from announcing fights just a few days after the major blunder, which went viral and sparked a huge amount of controversy.

Whether the actual in-ring action between Johnson and Hughes warranted a rematch is subjective, though Johnson-Hughes 1 likely wouldn't have received any of the spotlight it did without the announcing fumble, as it was a competitive fight with a clear winner.

Nevertheless, Johnson and Hughes will run it back on the George Kambosos vs. Jake Wyllie undercard in the early hours of Saturday morning. Uncrowned will bring you round-by-round coverage of the main card.

"If the ring announcer didn't make that mistake, I feel like we're going on to other fights rather than a rematch," Johnson acknowledged to Uncrowned and DAZN's "Ariel x Ade Show" on Tuesday.

"[Is that annoying?] A little bit, but it is what it is. I'm happy just to be back fighting again.

"It was like honestly a rollercoaster of emotions," Johnson added of the moment. "You have to just be humble [and] accept you sort of lost but feeling like you did enough to win. And then it's like, 'No, the announcer made a wrong call and you're the winner.'

"To go from such a low to such a high, it's the sort of feeling you can't really explain. I had envisioned me winning the whole time thorugh that last training camp, and for that to not play out how I had envisioned, it was very confusing."

Johnson, 30, on Tuesday also expressed frustration at how inactive she has been due to factors outside of her control. The Aussie champion boxed just once in 2023 and 2024. This is partially because she is promoted by Lou DiBella's Dibella Entertainment, which doesn't have a major network deal and therefore doesn't stage many fight cards, so DiBella is forced to slot his fighters onto other promoters' shows. DiBella co-promotes Kambosos, who fights in the main event on Saturday.

Should "Sugar Neekz" beat Hughes again in Sydney, she would like to move on to the major bouts in the division while she is still in her prime. 

"I'd love to obviously unify the rest of the belts," Johnson said. "I know Shurretta [Metcalf has] the IBF, and then Dina Thorslund has the WBC [and the WBO], so I'd love to make those fights happen. If the opportunity comes about to come back up to super bantam[weight], that's always an option I'd look at as well."

Earlier this month, Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced the trilogy contest between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for July 11 on Netflix, in association with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing. And on Monday, MVP confirmed the signing of undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner, Uncrowned's No. 7 pound-for-pound best women's boxer in the world.

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Hearn's Matchroom previously represented Baumgardner and was the lead promoter for the first Taylor vs. Serrano fight. The company, among others, pushed women's boxing onto major television platforms and fight cards, particularly throughout the building of Ireland's Taylor. However, in 2025, Paul's MVP seems to have leapfrogged the competitors as the primary promoter on the women's side of the sport.

"I woke up to the news this morning that Alycia had signed to MVP," Johnson said. "I was like, 'Oh, this is awesome. [MVP is] really doing a build for women's boxing and trying to make it just huge.' Then you've got the rematch of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano happening, that's yet again going to be another huge fantastic fight."

Despite that news, women's boxing has arguably taken a backward step in the past 12 months. The biggest fights and cards in the sport have taken place on Turki Alalshikh's Riyadh Season shows, which has featured just one female fight in its 11 events to date.

"I feel like it depends on who is backing you and who is supporting you," Johnson said regarding the status of the women's side of the sport.

"I feel like it's exciting, it's entertaining, and hopefully soon women can be recognized for creating great quality fights."

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