Ebanie Bridge confirmed her next opponent after the IBF appointed her mandatory opponent.
The Australian, who holds a belt in the bantamweight division, has held the belt since claiming a unanimous decision win over Maria Cecilia Roman of Argentina at the First Direct Arena in Leeds in March.
Bridges is a well-known figure in the sport and has been pitted against fellow Australian Shannon O’Connell, with a September 26 deadline set to arrange the match.
O’Connell (23-6-1, 11 KOs) is 39 years old and will enter the match after an eight-match winning streak she extended last month by beating Sarah Higginson. That first stoppage made her the number one contender for the ‘Blonde Bomber’ title.
And O’Connell, who holds the last Commonwealth bantamweight title after defeating Taylah Robertson last October, has vowed to take the gift aggressively, should the pair ever meet.
After the victory, O’Connell stated:
“I am number one in IBF,
“They should force me to do it. She’s going to have to fight me, otherwise don’t be the champion.”
Bridges fought 30 times as an amateur – winning 26 times, before turning pro just three years ago. She quickly moved to the UK, lifted the cane and went home to Mark Tibbs base in London, where she currently trains.
She’s had an 8-1 record as a pro since her math teacher switched classes for boxing in recent years.
But O’Connell wanted to point out the damage she could do to her countrymen and couldn’t wait to be given a chance.
“Ebanie Bridges pretended she didn’t know me because she was scared of me.
“I’ll punch a hole through that girl.”
