Aussie's 'monstrous' win after 'stripper' sledge

1 year ago 95

Ebanie Bridges retained her IBF bantamweight satellite loop by stopping chap Aussie brawler Shannon O'Connell successful a spiteful bout successful Leeds connected Sunday morning.

It was the archetypal clip Bridges, 36, had fought to support the rubric she took from Maria Cecilia Roman successful March, and she handled the juncture with class.

The aforesaid couldn't precisely beryllium said for her opponent, who engaged successful a bitter warfare of words successful the lead-up to the fight.

They archetypal faced disconnected successful a fiery online interrogation successful November, and past successful the days earlier Sunday's bout O'Connell labelled Bridges "a abdominous c---" and a "skanky stripper".

But it was Bridges who did the talking with her gloves, dropping O'Connell doubly earlier finishing the occupation successful the eighth circular via referee stoppage.

O'Connell, 39, looked coagulated aboriginal successful the combat and astir surely won the opening round, utilizing a almighty close manus to stun the rubric holder.

But Bridges' toughness and tenacity shone done arsenic she finished overmuch stronger and ended it with a flurry of punches which near O'Connell beaten and bloody.

The victor past utilized her ringing interrogation to occurrence backmost astatine O'Connell for the idiosyncratic barbs she had thrown earlier the clash.

"Not atrocious for a skanky stripper I indispensable say, not atrocious for a skanky stripper," Bridges said.

"I'm not usually disrespectful to my hostile but she was truthful disrespectful to maine the full time. So I can't truly springiness her that overmuch respect - she tin deed but. She tin bang.

"She came, she was hungry, she was fierce. But I was better, and that's wherefore I'm the champion."

Bridges - a erstwhile mathematics teacher from Sydney - present resides successful Leeds and has go a section leader of sorts successful her adopted English city.

But she proudly acknowledged her Australian fans and gave a motion to boxing fans backmost home.

"I anticipation the world, I anticipation Australia is arrogant of maine now," she said.

"We cognize who the queen of Australian boxing is. I knew it was going to beryllium the hardest combat of my career, and it was."

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