EXCLUSIVE: Furious Aussie world champion Ebanie Bridges SLAMS calls for boxing ring card girls to be banned: ‘I used to do it – nobody held a gun to my head and said get your gear off’
- World champion Ebanie Bridges slams calls for boxing card girls to be banned
- Bridges worked as a ring card girl in Australia and believes it is part of the sport
- The Blonde Bomber says being a card girl made her want to get into box more
World boxing champion Ebanie Bridges has slammed calls for boxing ring card girls to be banned, having worked as one herself during her younger days in Australia.
The IBF bantamweight champion has been competing in combat sports since she was five years old, but before she was boxing as a professional on the world stage, she spent years working as a ring card girl at boxing and Muay Thai events.
World boxing champion Ebanie Bridges (pictured) has slammed calls for boxing ring card girls to be banned, having worked as one herself in her younger days in Australia
The IBF bantamweight champion (pictured at a boxing event in Australia) has been competing in combat sports since she was five years old, but before she was boxing as a professional on the world stage, she spent years working as a ring card girl at boxing and Muay Thai events
Politicians and women’s advocacy groups have been calling for bans on the scantily clad women in recent years – but the ‘Blonde Bomber’ says their detractors have no idea what they’re talking about.
‘I travelled all around Australia with Fox Sports doing ring card girl stuff,’ Bridges, 36, told Daily Mail Australia. ‘I loved it. I was being paid to do my favourite thing.’
‘I love entertaining. I love the stage. I liked showing off my body that I worked hard for. And people who want to get rid of them are people who don’t do it. All of us love it.
Bridges (pictured) says she loved her time spent working as a ring card girl
‘Promo girls love their job. Models love their job. I love my job boxing. You don’t do that job because you are forced to. Nobody held a gun to my head and said get your gear off.’
Grid girls have been removed from professional racing in many parts of the world and politicians tried to stop Octagon Girls appearing at the most recent UFC event in Australia.
Bridges argues that the women are as much a part of the show as anyone else – including the fighters.
‘Boxing is an entertainment sport – it always has been. And ring girls are entertainment,’ said Bridges.
‘If I was a ring girl now I’d be gutted if somebody banned me from doing it. Being a card girl made me want to box more. Card girls ask me all the time how to get into the sport.’
Bridges took time recently to reflect on how far she’d come over the last several years by posting a clip of her journey from ring card girl to world champion on social media.
Bridges (pictured celebrating her world title win) argues that the ring card girls are as much a part of the show as anything else
‘I set goals and I achieve them. I refuse to let anything beat me – and I’m not going to waste a minute,’ said Bridges.
The former Sydney school teacher has made a big impression in the UK since relocating there – winning over fans with her sense of humour, aggressive boxing style and glamourous weigh-in attire.
She captured the IBF Bantamweight world title in just her ninth professional fight and is aiming to be the undisputed champion of her division by 2024.
Bridges (pictured) says being a card girl inspired her to want to pursue professional boxing
Bridges is currently preparing to defend her world title when she takes on bitter rival Shannon O’Connell on December 10.
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