IBF Women’s Champ Ebanie Bridges Needs Hand Surgery

Off her convincing IBF bantamweight title defense in Leeds, England Saturday night Australian Ebanie Bridges says she trained and fought with an injured right hand. And, after securing her eighth round TKO win over fellow countrywoman Shannon O’Connell she provided proof.

Bridges tweeted a photo Wednesday morning and talked about the injured hand that she says will require surgery later this week,

Booked in for surgery on my hand this Friday. A lot of my camp was done with one hand. A lot of my sparring only using my left hand. But there was no way I was pulling out of that fight cos I knew I could batter her with 1 hand if needed & I wanted to🤣but now time to sort this. pic.twitter.com/vfrVd48G0L

— Blonde Bomber 🥊💁🏼‍♀️ (@EbanieBridges) December 14, 2022

“Booked in for surgery on my hand this Friday,” Bridges wrote accompanying the photo.  “A lot of my camp was done with one hand. A lot of my sparring only using my left hand. But there was no way I was pulling out of that fight cos I knew I could batter her with 1 hand if needed & I wanted to🤣but now time to sort this.”

Bridges, 9-1, 4 KOs should be commended that she used that injured hand effectively (see photo top), including dropping O’Connell with a straight right in the fifth round of her first IBF title defense Saturday night. She eventually earned the stoppage by pummeling O’Connell with a multi-punch combo along the ropes in the eighth stanza the forced the referee to end things early.

The bout was the co-feature on the Josh Warrington-Luis Alberto Lopez main event in Leeds, England and it’s a sign of Bridges’ rise with Matchroom Boxing that they would have her in prominent spots on their cards.

Bridges has overcome criticism

Bridges, who is built more like a fashion model, was not without criticism as she turned pro and tried to advance into more prominent fights. The former school teacher who turned to boxing, including being a “round card girl” to get closer to the sport has heard tremendous insulting rhetoric that she isn’t a real fighter, etc.

However, she fought and narrowly lost an all out brawl with Brit Shannon Courtney in April of 2021. That fight saw Bridges’ eye swelling shut, however, she persevered and continued to trade blows in the center of the ring with the vet Courtenay.

After gaining respect in the loss, she’s now won four straight bouts, including winning the IBF title in decision over Maria Roman in March of this year, also in Leeds.

Now, she has career momentum but uncertainty with the injury.