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Aussie Boxer Ebanie Bridges Accused Of 'Disrespecting The Sport' By Wearing Lingerie During Weigh-Ins

Aussie Boxer Ebanie Bridges Accused Of 'Disrespecting The Sport' By Wearing Lingerie During Weigh-Ins

Bridges​' opponent Shannon Courtenay said: "If she wants to put polls out about underwear and wear a tiara on weigh-in day, then crack on."

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

In a matter of days, Ebanie Bridges is set to challenge Shannon Courtenay for the WBA women's world bantamweight title at Wembley Stadium in London.

It is, without doubt, the biggest fight of the Aussie's career.

But it seems there's a fair bit of bad blood heading into the bout - well, at least coming from one party.

Instagram/@ebanie_bridges/@mattknappickphotography

Bridges' ability inside the ring speaks for itself, but it appears it's her activities outside of it that has drawn the attention of her upcoming opponent.

British brawler Courtenay doesn't seem too fond of the fact that part-time Maths teacher Bridges has been receiving a lot of attention from the press for her social media presence - in particular, her choice to wear lingerie during weigh-ins.

"I'm a fighter, not a lingerie model," Courtenay said in a video released by her promoter Matchroom Boxing.

"This is a world title fight. Have some respect for the game. You've got people like Katie Taylor who has worked her arse off for years to allow women like me to be in this position - through hard work and dedication she's managed to get women's boxing where it is - and you want to disrespect it and degrade the sport by talking about your weigh-in outfit and lingerie? Have some respect and some decorum for boxing."

And she wasn't done there either.

In a recent interview with Ring News, 27-year-old Courtenay doubled down on her prior statements.

"If she wants to burn her energy and time on social media, then let her do that," she said.

"If she wants to put polls out about underwear and wear a tiara on weigh-in day, then crack on. Fill your boots. I don't care. I'm there to fight."

She added: "She likes to stand and trade and I like to stand and trade. I just want to fight. I just want to punch her in the face."

But Bridges - who currently boasts an unblemished, undefeated record of 5-0 - clearly doesn't seem too phased by her rival's rather strong comments.

"Let's be real. If I wore what everyone else wore, people wouldn't be interested. I'd just be another fight. Whatever," Bridges told Sky Sports.

"I'm trying to bring more eyes to the sport. You can criticise me as much as you like. But if I looked plain then you wouldn't even know this fight was happening.

"People will tune in to see if this girl wearing lingerie can actually fight, or is she just a model?

"The thing is; me and Shannon can really fight."

"If people had my body and my confidence then they would do it, but people are too scared of being judged.

"As a bodybuilder I stood on stage in a bikini flexing my body. I love it. I don't care what people think.

"Doing weigh-ins is showing off my hard work. It's something I enjoy. I make it a thing where my fans can interact with me. This is an entertainment business.

"This is something different that others aren't doing. Why do I need to be the same as everyone else?

"Everyone wears underwear at weigh-ins. Do you want me to wear a paper bag?"

Instagram/@ebanie_bridges/@skysports/@dazn

Bridges didn't hold back on social media too.

The unbeaten 'Blonde Bomber' and Courtenay are set to go toe-to-toe for the WBA women's bantamweight title on the undercard of Conor Benn and Samuel Vargas' highly-anticipated bout.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@ebanie_bridges

Topics: Boxing News, Boxing, Australia