‘It was really s***’ – Ellie Scotney on European title shot being postponed at 11th-hour

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Ellie Scotney has had the blow of her European title challenge not going ahead last Saturday softened by being added to the undercard of Katie Taylor’s undisputed lightweight defence at the end of this month.

The 24-year-old from Catford had been due to face Mary Romero at Greenwich’s 02 Arena only for the show to be scrapped after headliner Conor Benn provided an adverse reading for a banned fertility drug.

UK Anti-Doping is investigating Benn’s test result.

The bad news for all the undercard fighters is that not only did they not fight, but they also did not get paid.

Scotney had been in camp since mid-June and sparred 160 rounds.

Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn added Scotney-Romero to his Wembley Arena show on October 29, when Irish ring great Taylor faces Karen Elizabeth Carabajal.

“The [Benn-Eubank Junior] fight fell through on the Thursday and about four o’clock on the Friday I got a text from Eddie,” Scotney told the South London Press. “It was bittersweet.

“The card I was due to be on was a massive one and I was in the shape of my life, it was the hardest camp I’d done. To get that taken away at the last hurdle was horrible. It was out of our control.

“Us undercard fighters, we’re tadpoles. But we couldn’t get fed. Everyone seems to forget about us because you have got to earn your stripes. But it was really s***.

“Then to receive that news on Friday was a whole new buzz. It was that winning feeling.

“I didn’t realise I had a fight and I arranged to spar Mikaela [Mayer, WBO and IBF super-featherweight world champion] on the Sunday anyway. My mindset is that I want to keep getting better. It’s a pain having to peak again but I’m just trying to lift up from where I was at.”

Hearn has already stated the winner of Scotney’s fight will challenge IBF super-bantamweight world champion Cherneka Johnson next.

“It’s there but, first and foremost, the European title is massive,” said Scotney (5-0).“It’s something I’ve always wanted to win and that’s where my attention lies.

“I’ve watched Romero since my first fight, I always knew we’d meet and that it was just a matter of when. She’s been beating prospects and in good fashion – she’s physical, strong and a champion. She’s proved herself. I’ve got to go there and take it all off of her.”

Taylor has been a pioneer for female boxing but Scotney’s inspiration came much, much closer to home.

“It wasn’t a case of watching Jane Couch or Katie Taylor – for me it was much more personal,” said Scotney, one of seven siblings. “I watched my brother [Michael] and, as cringey as it is, I wanted to do whatever he did – and that was boxing.

“He was an amateur and went to a national final. He had one pro fight and then packed it in. He started at Honor Oak [boxing club] and then went to Eltham and the Lynn [AC].”

Scotney has not got a sponsor, meaning her sole revenue source is from boxing.

“I rely on that and my mum relies on that because I’m the only one left at home,” she said. “So to not fight was a real bummer.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Scotney should contact richard@slpmedia.co.uk.

PICTURE: MARK ROBINSON/MATCHROOM BOXING