Ebanie Bridges

Ebanie Bridges is an Australian professional boxer and boxing commentator from Sydney, Australia who's nickname is 'The Blonde Bomber' due to her hair colour and punching power. The youngest child of three, Bridges grew up in the Toongabbie suburb of Greater Western Sydney and is the only girl in her family. At the age of 5, her parents introduced her to karate, a discipline in which she competed for the following 8 years. Whilst at secondary school, she trained in two forms of martial arts (kickboxing and Muay Thai). Later, under the tutelage of Arina Manta, she decided to begin a successful foray into competitive bodybuilding, winning numerous regional and state titles. Between 2016 and 2018, having turned her attention to the sport of boxing, Bridges amassed a 26-4 amateur record and competed in the women's bantamweight events at the 2016 and 2017 Australasian Golden Gloves tournaments where she won gold. She also competed at the Australian Women Selection Tournament in Perth, however, she was defeated by Antonia Kay in the quarter-finals via points decision. Bridges made her professional debut on 8 February 2019 at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney against Filipino fighter, Mahiecka Pareno. The bout took place on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs. Denton Vassell and Ebanie was defeated via majority decision. It was later revealed that Bridges had broken her ankle during the fight, but chose to carry on regardless, showing the tenacity and never-say-die attitude that her fans have come to appreciate. In February 2020, she made her American debut after signing a promotional contract with Split-T Management, winning a 6-round unanimous decision against Crystal Hoy at the Hammond Civic Center in Indiana. On 13 March 2021, she faced Carol Earl for the vacant Australian National Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title at Bankstown City Paceway in Sydney, in which Ebanie secured a unanimous decision. The day after, it was confirmed that Bridges would face her fiercest rival, Shannon Courtenay, in a showdown for the vacant WBA female bantamweight title on the undercard of Conor Benn vs. Samuel Vargas at the Copper Box Arena on April 10. Courtenay had initially hoped to fight Rachel Ball but, after Ball pulled out due to illness, Bridges stepped in as a late replacement and narrowly lost a points decision. In March of the following year, Ebanie went on to claim her first world title by defeating the Argentine, Ceci Román, for the IBF championship. She was trained for the bout by her new coach, Mark Tibbs, from Peacock Gym in Canning Town and credited him with helping her to achieve her dream of becoming a world champion. Ebanie is also part of the commentary team for the main fight cards on DAZN Boxing (2015), alongside Mike Costello and Darren Barker, as well as fellow Australian female boxer, Skye Nicolson. Aside from boxing, Ebanie is a qualified mathematics teacher who has earned a Bachelor's degree in mathematics with a minor in physical education at Western Sydney University, followed by a Master's degree in teaching, graduating at the top of her class. She is also a black belt in karate and a polyglot who can speak five different languages, including Portuguese and Spanish, and in 2022 she featured as a contestant on the fourth season of the reality TV show, SAS Australia (2020).