14 January 2023 , 17:30
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Ebanie Bridges' return to the ring will have to wait until after the summer after she required surgery for a hand injury suffered before her last fight.
The Australian boxer, who last year became bantamweight world champion and has since defended the belt, is a huge fans' favourite in her new adopted home of Leeds. And she delighted supporters last month when she stopped fellow Aussie Shannon O'Connell in a battle fuelled by a bitter rivalry and heated build-up.
Bridges dropped her opponent in the third round with a thunderous right hand, and the Australian closed the show in the eight round as the referee stepped in. It was the ninth career win for the Australian, who is as famous for her antics outside of the ring at weigh-ins and on social media as she is for her brutalising showings in it.
However, the vicious showing could cost her almost a year of her career as she underwent surgery after showing off how brutally injured her hand was heading into the bout. After spending a lengthy period sidelined after her world title victory earlier in the year, Bridges told Mirror Fighting she is looking at "after the summer" before she returns to action.
"I haven't really been in the gym because of my hand," Bridges explained during an exclusive chat. "It's feeling a lot better than it did when I first had it, it's healing, it's a process and it's going to be quite a few months before I can start to use it again."
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O'Connell isn't the only Shannon with whom Bridges has had issues during her career; she also had a memorable feud and title fight with Shannon Courteney in 2021. But comparing the two, the Australian believes that her rivalry with the Brit was much less bitter and heated than with her countrywoman.
"People called Shannon just don't like me," she joked. "They just can't handle it, I said it from the start because I've known her for a while, Shannon O'Connell makes Shannon Courteney look like an angel. She's just a nasty piece of work, she came over to try and expose me and try and say that I can't box or this and that, but really I exposed her that for being all talk and a s*** human!"