Australian world champion Ebanie Bridges has hit back at compatriot and upcoming opponent Shannon O’Connell’s recent sledge that Bridges is a “skanky stripper”.
The pair will go face-to-face in the biggest fight in Aussie women’s boxing history on the undercard of the Josh Warrington v Luis Alberto Lopez IBF featherweight title bout in Leeds on December 11.
Bridges (8-1, 3 KO) who won the IBF bantamweight title in January against Maria Cecilia Roman, was called out by O’Connell (23-6-1, 11 KO) for her weigh-ins routine of going down to her lingerie.
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“I don’t know that I’d call her a beauty queen, more of a skanky stripper or something, I don’t know,” O’Connell told DStyleBoxing earlier this year.
Speaking on the Main Event Boxing Podcast this week, Bridges seemed happy to try and reclaim the title when asked whether any of O’Connell’s pre-fight comments had gotten under her skin.
“The skanky stripper thing – I’m gonna get shirts made up that say ‘skanky stripper’,” Bridges said.
“I wonder how you’re gonna explain that you got beat by a skanky stripper that doesn’t take the sport seriously?”
Bridges is used to commentary like O’Connell’s and doesn’t believe there’s anything she can do to stop the haters.
“No matter what – look at (Floyd) Mayweather, he’s incredible, he still has so many haters. Everyone has haters. Canelo has haters. Clarissa Shields has haters. Some people just hate,” she said.
“The real people, the people that understand boxing, that know boxing, that don’t have some personal vendetta … they can see the truth of me, they can see what I’ve done and what I am, and that’s all that matters.
“I don’t fuss too much about people that hate and can’t see it. I’m not here to really prove anyone wrong, I’m just here to be my best and do my best.
“I do feel like possibly, when I beat Shannon, if I KO her that’d be a great statement to all the people who are anti the Blonde Bomber, especially in Australia. But I’m just going to go out there and win, and I’m sure I’ll shut a few people up.”
Bridges has quickly built her profile in women’s boxing in recent years while O’Connell, nicknamed The Queen of Australian Boxing, has been competing since 2011.
“She sounds a little bit bitter when she talks, but hey, I might be too a little bit,” Bridges said.
“Shannon saw me at my first amateur fight. I’ve done what I’ve done in three years.
“I’m getting her her biggest payday, which is probably all of her pay put together in one fight, and I’ve done that in a couple of years. And it’s because of me, it’s because of what I’ve built, how hard I’ve worked and the brand I’ve brought.”
