Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend | Boxing News, articles, videos, rankings and results (2024)

Ebanie Bridges opposes late sub Miyo Yoshida on the undercard of Saturday’s Matchroom card in San Francisco featuring the WBC lightweight title fight between Regis Prograis and Devin Haney. It’s doubtful that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the show (Prograis vs Haney is a compelling match-up), but it’s a stone-cold lock that Bridges vs. Yoshida will steal the weigh-in. It goes at 1 pm Friday at the Chase Center and is open to the public.

This is all Bridges’ doing. She can fight more than a little, as Damon Runyon would have phrased it, but is best known for turning up at weigh-ins in lingerie so sexy that Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn averts his eyes to keep from blushing. Others can’t keep their eyes off the 37-year-old, well-endowed Australian and on Friday the paparazzi will crash the scene to capture images that will be all over the internet within hours.Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend | Boxing News, articles, videos, rankings and results (1)

This doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. Former opponent Shannon Courtenay, who saddled Bridges (9-1, 4 KOs) with her only defeat, chastised her for selling their fight for the wrong reasons and disrespecting the sport. Her most recent opponent, Shannon O’Connell, called her a skank and other terms of derision unfit for a family newspaper.

Bridges stopped her in the eighth round in what is her most gratifying win to date. “She made it personal,” says Ebanie. “It felt good to make her eat her words.”

Bridges, who set a withering pace, was making the first defense of the IBF bantamweight title she won with a comprehensive 10-round decision over Argentina’s long-reigning Maria Cecilia Roman. Shannon O’Connell, a fellow Aussie, entered that bout on an 8-fight winning streak that included hard-earned decisions over Australian standouts Taylah Robertson and Cherneka Johnson.

So, although Bridges vs O’Connell was contested in Leeds, England, it was something of the culmination of an Australian round-robin tournament, and it would be Ebanie Bridges that emerged as the Queen Bee.

Bridges has a platform on Only Fans. Known for its “adult” content, the web site is also a place where B-list celebrities go to monetize their fan base by promising a closer look into their personal lives. For attractive female celebs, that usually means displaying more skin that can be found in generic publicity photos, but well short of hard-core. Current Only Fans performers include recording artist Cardi B, actress Denise Richards, the former spouse of Charlie Sheen, actress Drea de Matteo, best known for portraying Adriana on “The Sopranos,” former “Baywatch” sex symbol Carmen Electra, boxer Mikaela Mayer, and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler who shares a daughter with Oscar de la Hoya.

Women that profit from cheesecake, to use an old word for racy photos, aren’t known for having the brightest bulbs between their ears but Bridges, despite embracing her nickname, the Blonde Bomber, doesn’t fit the stereotype. She’s no bimbo.

Ms. Bridges has two college degrees, an undergraduate degree in math and a master’s in secondary education. In her spare time, she finds solace in playing the piano and in drawing, a skill that she inherited from her father, a painter and commercial artist.

In her drawings, she is partial to British soccer coaches and athletes, in particular boxers. Some of her photos are embedded in her smart phone. These, I can attest, are very good. There was no mistaking her drawing of Sugar Ray Robinson. It ranked right up there with Stanley Weston whose illustrations adorned the covers of 57 issues of The Ring magazine.

Bridges is her own best publicist. It’s an attribute she shares with UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend | Boxing News, articles, videos, rankings and results (2)

It comes as no surprise to learn that they are well-acquainted. Bridges and McGregor sat together at the first fight between Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron. She is a spokesperson for the latest product that McGregor is pushing, Forged Irish Stout, a brand of beer that debuted at the Black Forge Inn, the Dublin pub that McGregor owns.

“I love Conor,” she says, “he’s lovely,” a rather odd adjective to apply to a man who once attacked a bus with a metal barricade at a UFC media event in Brooklyn, injuring three people.

“He’s great for my brand,” says Bridges of McGregor, “and I’m great for his brand.”

Like it or not, this is the new world order. This reporter is old enough to remember when colleges and universities had football teams. Now they have football franchises, which isn’t quite the same. A franchise requires a well-oiled marketing department to enhance the value of the brand.

Bridges got her first crack at a world title (the WBA version held by Shannon Courtenay) after only five pro fights against opponents who were collectively 12-25-5. Her opponent on Saturday, Miyo Yoshida, sports a 16-4 record and is coming off a loss.

This is fodder for critics of female boxing but, make no mistake, Bridges would be a tough out for any female bantamweight in the world and she has paid her dues. She had 30 amateur fights after previously training in karate, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. (In fairness to Matchroom’s matchmaker, he salvaged Saturday’s date for her, securing Yoshida after three previous opponents fell out.)

Looking ahead to 2024, Bridges envisions fighting England’s Nina Hughes, the WBA belt-holder, and then Denmark’s Dina Thorslund who owns the other two meaningful pieces of the bantamweight title. A match with Thorslund (currently 20-0, 8 KOs) with all four belts on the line would be a blockbuster and, by then, should it transpire, the Blonde Bombshell would undoubtedly be one of the most well-known boxers in the world.

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Ebanie Bridges Poised to Defend Her Title and Boost Her Brand in SanFran This Weekend | Boxing News, articles, videos, rankings and results (2024)

FAQs

Did Ebony Bridges win her last fight? ›

The judges all scored the contest for Yoshida in a landslide. Two judges gave Bridges just one round of the 10-round title contest with the judges scoring the fight 99-91 x 2 and 97-93. One commentator on the DAZN broadcast showed what an upset it was.

How much are ebony bridges worth? ›

Ebanie Bridges Net Worth
NameEbanie Bridges
Net Worth (2024)$7 Million
ProfessionAustralian professional boxer
Monthly Income$35,000 +
Yearly Income$0.5 Million +
1 more row
Jul 3, 2024

How much does the blonde bomber weigh? ›

💙 Weigh in done 💙 117.8lb / 53.4kg.

What happened to Ebanie Bridges? ›

Bridges was scheduled to make the second defense of her IBF bantamweight title against Avril Mathie on 9 December 2023, in San Francisco, CA., but due to injury Mathie withdrew. Bridges fought Miyo Yoshida and lost her IBF title to a Unanimous Decision.

Is Ebanie Bridges still champion? ›

The 37-year-old has now lost the IBF bantamweight championship she won when she beat Maria Roman unanimously in March 2022 in England. Yoshida landed 122 power punches compared to Bridges' 66 in a telling statistic that summed up the fight.

Is Ebanie Bridges going to fight again? ›

Ebanie Bridges Next Fight-Opponent, Date, Location

Ebanie Bridges will square off against Miyo Yoshida on December 9, 2023, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, USA.

Who did Xander Zayas fight last? ›

Xander Zayas has been touted as a contender since he was a teenager, and he showed why on Saturday night in New York City, dominating Patrick Teixeira in a unanimous decision victory to remain undefeated as a junior middleweight prospect.

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