IBF Mandates September 26 Deadline For World Bantamweight Title Fight Between Ebanie Bridges and Shannon O'Connell

 

You can put this one in boxing’s all too rare “well, that escalated quickly” category. 

“She’s a nobody and the people teaming up with her are just haters,” Ebanie Bridges responded to a question posed to her on Twitter by freelance sportswriter and obvious admirer Dan Kelly regarding fellow Aussie and mandatory challenger Shannon O‘Connell. “She’s desperate for attention and begging me for exposure but I won’t give it to her cos she literally offers me nothing. If she was somebody, I’d fight her. It’s that simple.”

‘Shotgun’ Shannon retweeted this exchange, adding the caption, “Hahaha. She’s embarrassing herself.” Besides disrespectfully and erroneously referring to Shannon as “a nobody,” it is very odd indeed that Bridges, considering her bra and panties approach to gaining followers, would accuse O’Connell of being the one who is “desperate for attention” and “begging…for exposure.”  

Thankfully their war of words on social media will be settled by a war of attrition inside the ring at a date and time soon to be determined. Shannon had grave doubts about being given her rightful opportunity to face her brazen nemesis when I chatted with her about the prospect of an all-Aussie world bantamweight title fight for a story I wrote on the topic ten days ago.

Team Shotgun was initially informed that Bridges was not due to make a mandatory defense until March 2023, and the newly-crowned champion showed little interest in the prospect of clashing with O’Connell. Nor did Ebanie’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Talks between the Matchroom Boxing mogul and Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing, who represents O’Connell, had been contentious and unproductive.

Over the weekend, however, news broke that the IBF is ordering Ebanie Bridges to defend her world bantamweight belt against O’Connell by no later than September 26, with negotiations to be finalized within the next thirty days.

It makes perfect sense for the tussle between Bridges and O’Connell to be staged on Matchroom’s inaugural Australian boxing card which will be occurring on the Gold Coast in September. Whatever the time and locale end up being, one thing is certain. With an inevitable showdown with Shannon O’Connell looming just two months away, Ebanie Bridges is going to have to train her focus on much more than what she will be wearing, or not wearing, at the weigh-in.

Especially with a fired up ‘Shotgun’ Shannon vowing to “punch holes through her.”

Mandatory Challenger 'Shotgun' Shannon O'Connell Takes Aim at Ebanie Bridges, Discusses Potential All-Aussie Title Clash

 

Australia is an absolute hotbed of women’s boxing, and has been for quite some time. Look no further for proof of this than the significant achievements of Diana Prazak, Susie Q Ramadan, fighter and writer Mischa Merz, Cherneka Johnson, Kori Farr, Avril Mathie, Beck Hawker, Bianca Elmir, Taylah Robertson, Louisa Hawton, Caitlin Parker, and Skye Nicolson to name just a handful.

Differentiating oneself as more than just a face in the crowd amongst these noteworthy female fighters is quite a formidable task. And yet Queensland’s ‘Shotgun’ Shannon O’Connell (23-6-1, 11 KOs) has spent the last eighteen years doing exactly that.

Kicking off her amateur career in 2004 at the age of twenty-one, O’Connell claimed the top prize at the AIBA Oceania tournament that same year. She would go on to ascend to the upper tier of the medal stand at the 2005 Arafura Games and Oceanian Championships (which Shannon would win again in 2010), as well as fight her way to becoming the Australian National Champion in 2009 before turning pro two years later.

Having scrapped her way to a world title shot in only her ninth professional fight, O’Connell was just barely edged out on the scorecards by defending (and still to this day, even if her reign has been “massively cherrypicked” as Shannon asserts) WBA featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi in May 2013. Six weeks later, Shannon would win the WBF portion of the 126-pound crown with a seventh-round knockout of Gabisile Tshabalala, who had to be conveyed from the ring on a stretcher and spent two years on the inactive list.

A reversal of fortune befell Shannon in her next bout when she was floored twice and ultimately stopped by WBC world featherweight titleholder Diana Prazak. In subsequent years, O’Connell would win the WIBA world title at super-bantamweight and pick up a secondary WBC belt in the same division which she would successfully defend on two occasions.   

2017 was a rough year for Shannon. Though she battled her way into contention for Marcela Eliana Acuna’s IBF super-bantamweight world title, O’Connell lost a purse bid to bring that fight to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on the Manny Pacquiao/Jeff Horn undercard. Forced to travel to Argentina rather than appear on a high-profile show in front of 55,000 Aussie fight fans, Shannon gave a far better account of herself than the hometown judges’ scores would indicate, but was outpointed by the vastly more experienced Acuna.  

Worse still, O’Connell faced off against world title challenger Helen Joseph in a bounce-back fight a mere month and a half later and was stopped in the second round, knocked out cold by the Nigerian ‘Iron Lady’ courtesy of a hellacious left hook delivered during a heated exchange. She would turn things around before the year’s end, however, powering her way to a first-round TKO of Sumalee Tongpootorn.

O’Connell currently remains unbeaten in her last eight bouts, notching yet another first-round stoppage victory on June 29, this time opposite rising prospect Sarah Higginson. And after recuperating from two surgical procedures on her left shoulder, no less.

“The big part of my recent eight-fight winning streak came after I fell pregnant and had my baby boy. I guess having that bit of time out gave me time to sit back and analyze everything,” Shannon theorized in our recent conversation. “I also trained hard and not necessarily smart. I still do that, but not with boxing. I run hard and my strength and conditioning is hard, but my boxing is more about practicing little things and learning. My baby is now three and I haven’t had a loss, so I guess he’s my little lucky charm.”

Her successes have not gone unnoticed by two of boxing’s major sanctioning bodies. “I first became ranked #1 in the WBA by beating Cherneka Johnson, who was 13-0, on her coach’s promotion in early 2021,” O’Connell confirmed for me. “I then won the Commonwealth title in probably one of the harder Aussie vs. Aussie fights I’ve had against Kori Farr. Someone who I knew from thousands of rounds of sparring that was better than her record and just never on the ‘A’ side when it came to promoters. That got me ranked in the IBF.”

Now rated as the top bantamweight contender by both the WBA and IBF, ‘Shotgun’ Shannon is locked and loaded for what would undoubtedly be an all-action showdown with another female fighter from Down Under whom I have deliberately yet to mention. Namely everyone’s favorite cheeky Aussie (pun very much intended), Ebanie Bridges. Well, not everyone. O’Connell is neither amused nor impressed by Bridges’ antics, referring to her as “trash.” The disdain, for what it’s worth, appears to be mutual. Which Shannon is fine with.   

“She talks like she doesn’t know my name, etc. But of course she does. If she didn’t know my name, she wouldn’t feel the need to put me down every chance it gets mentioned,” said Shannon. “I think she forgets that she was a fan years ago.”

Despite the fact that O’Connell was installed as the WBA’s number one contender at the time, she was completely overlooked for a crack at their vacant bantamweight title last April. Instead, Ebanie Bridges and Shannon Courtenay, with only twelve fights’ worth of professional boxing experience between them, were given the nod. I couldn’t help but ask Shannon, who described the slugfest as looking like ”two novice girls just having a brawl,” how that was allowed to happen.

“Well, the WBA fight that I had (the title eliminator against Cherneka Johnson) was organized by my opponent’s trainer/promoter and, well, he’s not Eddie Hearn,” she chuckled. “So he managed to get both us bypassed so that Shannon Courtnay and Ebanie, who were both ranked lower than both of us, got the fight over us.” Meanwhile, things were reaching a boiling point between O’Connell and her own team, members of which it seems didn’t have her best interests at heart.

“I had a few management issues in my next fight prep and came to realize there were some things going on behind my back. Contracts not being mentioned to me for fights, including that IBF world title that Bridges ended up getting, and promotional deals. So I split with my manager and had no choice but to move on to a new coach,” she pointed out to me. “It turned out to be the best thing possible in both ways, coaching and management. Right from the get-go, Glen Jennings (Team Tszyu 2) and No Limit Boxing were on the hunt to get things moving and were trying to get the mandatory position locked in for before she (Bridges) even won the title. So it’s been months of behind the scenes pushing all while I was recovering from major shoulder surgery.”

Just last month, Eddie Hearn officially announced his plan to take Matchroom Boxing’s show on the road to Australia for the very first time in September. Headlined by a twelve-round super-lightweight bout between unbeaten contenders Liam Paro and Brock Jarvis, the card will also feature undefeated heavyweight Demsey McKean as well as former Olympian Skye Nicolson, who will be fighting in front of a home crowd for the first time as a pro.

Surely an all-Aussie bantamweight title clash between newly-crowned IBF champion Ebanie Bridges and her mandatory challenger Shannon O’Connell would be a no-brainer for inclusion as a chief support bout. Not so fast, submits O’Connell.

“Matt Rose (No Limit Boxing) has had contact with Eddie Hearn and he has no intention of putting her in with me, which is sad really because I’m sure he knows I at least deserve a shot at proving the belt should be mine,” Shannon asserted. “Eddie is a business man though at the end of the day, and I think he knows I’m the biggest draw to put her in against before she loses it anyway trying to unify because every one of those girls (Yulihan Luna, Jamie Mitchell, Dina Thorslund) beat her.”

Assuming the fight doesn’t take place in September, how confident is O’Connell that Bridges and Hearn will honor their obligation to her when or if the time eventually comes?

“We were told only a week ago that I am her mandatory, but she’s not due a mandatory defense until March 2023,” Shannon informed me. “We still pushed for the fight because, well you know, wouldn’t a champion want to challenge themselves? Apparently not all of them. I highly doubt the fight will happen because she knows I beat her.”

The scraphappy yet technically proficient O’Connell is confident that Bridges’ often reckless aggression is a style tailor-made for her to capitalize on. “To be honest, I really think it’ll be a good entertaining fight. She comes forward and that suits me perfect,” avowed Shannon. “She’s tough and so am I, but I have a lot more skill and knowledge. I think my experience and ability to adapt will definitely show.”

Nothing has ever come easy for Shannon O’Connell in or out of the ring. But something tells me, when it comes right down to it, she wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, the things in life most worth having should never be come by effortlessly. Having opportunities dropped into your lap or being gifted decisions does nothing but give the recipient delusions of grandeur and a sense of entitlement.

“Go figure,” Shannon laughs, having been around the block a time or two dozen by now and made to concede to her fair share of the fight game’s partisan repudiation. “It’s not what you’ve achieved, it’s who’s paying the bills.”

Ramla Ali: The Belle of the Brawl Continues Her Quest for a Crown

 

It might seem incongruous to some for a boxer in her early thirties to consider herself a work in progress. Ramla Ali, however, isn’t terribly concerned by other people’s perceptions of her, with the obvious exceptions of her family, friends, husband, and coach. It wasn’t always like that. But with tireless persistence and a work ethic equal to her desire to smash down barriers and initiate change, Ali moved past her insecurities to chase her dreams.

Free from the temptation of sneaking peeks into the rearview mirror, Ramla focuses on the here and now with careful consideration also given to the next bend in the road along what has already been a remarkable and fruitful journey. Navigating life’s blind curves is what keeps our minds alive, our reflexes sharp, and our hearts open to all possibilities.

Complacency is a fatal flaw which should be avoided at all costs as it prevents everyone, the prizefighter and average Joe or Jane alike, from fulfilling our potential. None of us should think of ourselves as finished products until the day our time runs out. To accept perfection as a reality is to betray the sense of how far we have come and capitulate to how much further we desire to push ourselves.  

Ramla Ali’s quest toward greatness has taken her from war torn Somalia and overcrowded refugee camps to appearing on the covers of the most posh fashion magazines, advocating for civil rights, and representing her homeland in the Olympics. A lot has happened even since then.

In the past year alone, Ramla embarked on a three-fight tour of the United States, published a memoir, inked a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, was brought under the representation of the managerial team headed up by Anthony Joshua, and began training with the renowned Manny Robles. All things considered, the foundational building blocks are being put into their proper place in due time to allow Ali the continuation of her forward progress and upward mobility.

Step by step, Ramla climbs the rankings with the goal of world title contention inching ever closer to her reach. 6-1 Agustina Rojas, an aggressive 23-year-old Argentine with a walk-forward fighting style, presented Ramla with her latest and most substantial challenge this past Saturday at London’s O2 Arena on the undercard of the Derek Chisora/Kubrat Pulev rematch.

Ramla personally sold 1,000 tickets for her first eight-rounder, with her Somali brethren accounting for 800 of them. This was something for which she was particularly proud, especially since among them would be her entire family. With the exception of her youngest brother Yahya, none of them had ever seen Ramla box live and in person. Indeed, for many years she had to keep her pugilistic exploits secret from her mother, whose devout adherence to Islamic law forbade such activity.

Establishing a comfortable rhythm by throwing combinations behind a double or triple left jab proved very difficult for Ali in the early going. Rojas would consistently close the distance with a quick and effective jab of her own, successfully timing straight rights or looping hooks over Ramla’s receding left hand on multiple occasions. Ramla got in the last word of round one by landing a straight right just as the bell sounded.  

The shorter, stockier Argentinian gave Ali problems aplenty through the first few stanzas by bullying her way past the protective perimeter and clipping Ramla with left leads and right hooks on the way in. Ramla attempted to halt her advances with body shots and counter rights, but was menaced nevertheless by the scrappy and tireless Rojas.  

Spurred on by chants of “Ali! Ali! Ali!” emanating from her many Somali supporters, Ramla made adjustments in the middle rounds recommended by Manny Robles, such as mixing in uppercuts during the exchanges contested at close quarters, that permitted her the opportunity to control the pace and style of the fight more to her liking. Perhaps a little too much so, as Robles sternly advised her to quit admiring her work and stay busy throwing punches.      

Dutifully she obliged, increasing her offensive output and finding her target at a more successful rate. Ali also employed better use of her footwork and head movement to evade the vast majority of Rojas’ incoming shots, which were being thrown with less frequency and determination as time ticked down.

A tiring Rojas was now being forced to fight off the backfoot and went down to the canvas toward the end of the sixth, though not as the result of a punch. Ramla maintained command of the bout until the final bell, pitching a clean shutout over Rojas by the 80-72 tally arrived at by the lone scorekeeper, referee Chas Coakley.        

Potent and prudent in their shared approach as teacher and student, the team of Manny Robles and Ramla Ali appear to make a winning combination. Given Manny’s strict attention to detail and Ramla’s studious dedication to improving her technical skills, it is simply a matter of when, not if, they reach the summit together and see Ali claim yet another distinctive accomplishment by becoming boxing's first Somali world champion.