Ebanie Bridges: “I almost walked away from boxing before shock world title defeat”
Ring rust proved costly as Australian star Ebanie Bridges (9-2, 4KO) lost her IBF World bantamweight title by unanimous decision to Japan’s Miyo Yoshida in December last year, and the ‘Blonde Bomber’ opened up on the struggles in the lead up to the fight which saw her consider walking away from the sport she loves so much.
Speaking to Online Slots, Ebanie Bridges revealed, “I considered [quitting boxing] more before the defeat because of the emotional rollercoaster before the fight. I was like, why am I even doing this? It’s just constant let-downs. It’s just frustrating. Boxing’s f**ked. People don’t realise, they don’t see what goes on behind the scenes. It’s a real love hate thing.
“Quitting was a consideration because I was asking myself ‘why am I even doing this?’ But then I remember it’s because I want to be a world champion, because I want to inspire people, because I want to get those other belts. I can’t just give up. I’ve never in my life given up when it’s gotten hard because when you give up, when it gets hard, that’s when you don’t succeed.”
The former world champion ’s frustration over her situation with Matchroom has led to her eyeing up alternative ways to make money in the boxing industry. Elle Brooke is fighting on the upcoming Misfits MF x DAZN: X Series 15 and Ebanie could be tempted to join her friend in the future.Bridges admitted, “Money talks. It’s that simple. Yeah [you could see me and Elle Brooke on the same card]. I don’t care. I’m at an age where I’ve been a world champion, you can’t take that away from me. I’ve got my belt over there. Obviously I’d like to get more belts. I’d like to get my belt back, but if that’s not happening and boxing can’t make that happen, then if someone can offer me some more money then I’ll go where the money is.
“It’s one or the other. If I had a choice between a world title fight and a lot more money, I’d probably still go for the world title fight because I want to win a world title. But if I’m not even getting that option then yeah, sure, give me the money.”
Ebanie Bridges vs Astrid Wett
Ebanie recently unleashed a tirade at OnlyFans-star-turned-boxer Astrid Wett on social media recently. The Aussie has now revealed the motivation behind the feud was to boost her profile because she doesn’t think Wett would ever share a ring with her.
The Aussie said, “She’s obviously the rival of Elle, who’s like my best mate. So I thought, oh, you want to call out someone? I’ll f**king fight you. I mean, she can’t even say yes to Elle Brook! It’s a hypothetical fight, but I don’t mind getting people talking about me doing it. And that’s exactly what it did.
“So thanks to everyone that was chatting about it and everyone that wrote about it and everyone replied and retweeted. You just did exactly what I wanted you to. That is, get people talking. It’s just internet s**t, isn’t it? It’s marketing. It’s promoting myself and using Astrid Wett and the s**t she’s on to promote myself.”