Ebanie Bridges, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight world champion, has stuck to her custom of weigh-ins in lingerie.
The ‘Blonde Bomber’ defends her belt against Japan’s Miyo Yoshida in one of the seven bouts that make up this Saturday’s evening at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Bridges was scheduled to face Avril Mathie in her first fight in all of 2023, in a matchup that had been billed as the “Battle of the Tits,” but Mathie pulled out after injuring herself in training.
The duel had raised as much, if not more, anticipation for the pre-fight weigh-in than for the bout.
Bridges’ unusual fighting background
From the age of six Bridges began practicing contact sports: karate, kickboxing and muay thai, then she switched to bodybuilding.
As an amateur boxer she achieved a 26-4 record between 2016 and 2018 and in February 2019, she embarked on her career as a professional.
She has won nine fights, four by knockout, and lost one, peaking in March 2022, when she became the flyweight champion of the world after beating Argentina’s Maria Cecilia Roman.
A year ago she made her first title defense as she defeated compatriot Shannon O’Connell by knockout in the eighth round, despite having broken a hand before the fight.