It’s not every day that a boxing champion is accused of using her sexuality to succeed in the business but this is exactly the type of accusation Shannon O’Connell lobbed at her rival.
O’Connell is booked to face IBF bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges on December 10 in Leeds.
Bridges became infamous for the attire she chooses for weigh ins. Bridges also has a healthy sense of humor. During her a previous weigh in session, she gifted Eddie Hearn a pair of sunglasses so that he “doesn’t have to hurt his neck looking at the ceiling”.
Bridges has a record consisting of 8 wins and 1 loss and she last competed in March of 2022 having won a decision over Maria Cecilia Roman.
“I don’t like the way Ebanie has gone about things,” O’Connell said.
“If you look back 10 years ago … (female boxers) never got recognized, we went on all the amateur tournaments and tours, we paid our own way, there was no respect in the sport for women.”
“I believe everyone has worked so hard to gain respect, and doing things the way Ebanie has done them …”
Bridges interjected: “So I’m not working hard? You don’t think that I’m actually working hard?”
“You don’t think I worked hard just because I look a bit different, what I do isn’t the same as you? You’re saying I haven’t had it the hard way because I’m just a little bit different?”
Ebanie Bridges gave up everything for boxing — and ‘f–k you’ if you don’t like her outfit
O’Connell: “What, because you get your clothes off to be seen?”
Bridges: “I get my clothes off? Sorry, how does everyone else weigh-in in? Claressa Shields just weighed-in in lingerie, gets her clothes off too, and all the girls that get their clothes off, now they’re just seen?”
O’Connell added: “I’ve heard interviews where you’re saying you grew up around strippers and stuff, and you’re bagging them out, now you’re acting like one.”
“I’ve got kids. Imagine my 16-year-old son going to school and all his mates passing around that photo of me – there would be punch-ons every day.”
“And my daughter is 15, imagine her, me teaching her ‘hey just get your clothes off and you’ll get what you want in life’.”
Bridges fired back, saying: “It’s so 1920s, telling women what they need to do.”
“If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be on this platform, you wouldn’t be getting seen globally, you wouldn’t be getting the biggest payday of your career,” she continued.
“You can say I’ve disrespected the sport, but I’m pretty sure because of me you’re here, you’re going to make good money, and you’ll have people actually know who you are.”
Bridges started in the sport as a ring girl.
Bridges told Pub Talk: “I was a ring girl. I love combat sports, I grew up with it, so for me to be at the fights… I loved it. I got paid mad money, probably more than some of the fighters, to sit ringside.
“I’d be walking around in a G-string – they don’t do the G-strings these days but back in my heyday, that’s how we used to do it.”
Bridges also addressed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments slamming the ring girls:
“Why are people who aren’t us, trying to take our jobs away from us? We love it, I loved being a ring girl. I don’t think it’s useless.”