Ellie Scotney devastated as dream world title shot is cancelled
Catford's undefeated boxing sensation Ellie Scotney (6-0) was due to fight on the huge Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron undercard on May 20 in Dublin until she was pulled from the show, seemingly on the request of headliner Cameron and her team.
25-year-old south Londoner Scotney was due to challenge New Zealand's champion Cherneka Johnson (15-1, 6KO) for her IBF World super-bantamweight title before she was cruelly taken off the card.
Heartbroken, she took to social media to alert her fans who had bought tickets and to share her anguish, “I am incredibly disappointed to say that I am now hearing that I will be removed from the May 20th card in Dublin due to Chantelle Cameron and her management insisting to my promoter that I'm not allowed to be on her undercard because of who trains me. This is despite having been on two of her undercards before with no problems whatsoever!
“After my world title fight had been announced (on a huge night globally for women's boxing), my dream [has] now been taken away from me by a fellow fighter dictating terms and making unreasonable demands to my promoter. I cannot describe how heartbroken I am.”
Scotney is trained by Shane McGuigan, Cameron's former trainer who ended up parting ways after pay disputes saw the broken team end up in a bitter court battle to settle their differences.
Headliner Cameron responded in statement released the following day to explain her actions and reasons, “I'm gutted to have to come on here and write this today, but I've had no option after the statement that was issued last night and the harrassment, threats and witch hunt that came after.
“Firstly, I am sorry that Ellie feels the way she does. I respect her as a fighter, and I wish the situation was different, but as female fighters, who always have to work harder to prove ourselves, I would have hoped that she would have understood the situation and how important our mental health is going in to fights like these, especially as the away fighter in Dublin where Katie is hailed as a national treasure, the last thing I need is more intimidation. Yes, I am a fighter, but I am human too.
“A few years ago I was almost walking away from a sport I love because of what I went through with my team and was not in a good mental or physical place at all. I cannot begin to describe how horribly I was treated, and it’s a part of my life that I want to try and forget. Unfortunately, due to an NDA forced upon me, I can’t disclose any of the details of this, which is why I’ve never told the story.
“Ellie is right when she said that she has fought on the same cards as me before, but on those occasions only the people closest to me know what I had to go through because of this, and did what was necessary to make sure I stayed on track and positive, and not let that affect my mindset and my performance, despite the emotions it triggered.
“So, it brings me to this point, where I am in the biggest fight of my life and what I have worked towards for all these years. It has not been an easy road and it has not been an easy decision for my team to make, but they have to protect me in this situation and I have to protect myself.”
BBN Editor, Tim Rickson, reacted to the news, “The main things I have taken from Chantelle's statement is that the opening line begun very defensively to say she has received harrassment and threats, diverting the attention away from Scotney to play the victim herself, and then she puts the blame on Scotney for not being able to understand as a fellow fighter. It ends with Cameron talking about protecting herself… so everything just points to selfishness and insensitivity, for me. Plus, it seems very autocratic, impetuous and demanding.
“I can understand the dilemma Cameron faces, but this is a situation she has been in before and will be again – bumping into her old team at shows. Being laser-focused on the biggest fight of her career should mean she won't even notice anyone else other than her opponent. I'm sure there could have been another way of avoiding Shane McGuigan during fight week without breaking a young girl's heart.”
Many fight fans are expecting an official statement from Matchroom Boxing to explain the decision and where they stand.
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