Ebanie Bridges became the unofficial queen of weigh-ins after the hard-hitting Aussie swapped bodybuilding for boxing and captured the hearts of British fight fans.
The Blonde Bomber had everyone in attendance picking their jaws up off the floor the first time she stripped down to sexy lingerie for a weigh-in and made the occasion an event in itself. And in the years since, the former IBF bantamweight world champion has seemingly sparked a trend, with a variety of female fighters wearing increasingly daring outfits to grab attention before the bell rings.
Bridges’ last opponent, Ebonie Cotton, took things to another level when she faced the weigh-in master earlier this year. If those in attendance thought Bridges’ blue lingerie was risqué, they weren’t quite prepared for what Cotton would bring to the table.
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The West Midlands fighter ditched lingerie altogether, instead covering her modesty with nothing more than thin strips of tape, which left very little to the imagination. And posing next to Ebanie, made for pictures that understandably soon went viral.
“She was a fan of mine. I know I’ve inspired her. I thought: ‘You know what? It’d be hard to stand next to me in lingerie because that’s my lane, so she’s got to do something different’,” Bridges told Daily Star Sport.
“I don’t see it as competition. I just thought she was selling the fight. More people watched. More people looked because of it. I saw a lot of the hate she got, and it reminded me of what people used to say about me when I started doing lingerie weigh-ins!”
Arabella Del Busso – real name Donna Preusker, but going by the nickname Lil Bellsy – also took things to the extreme when she stepped on the scales ahead of the Misfits event featuring Tommy Fury versus Eddie Hall earlier this month.
Australian model turned fighter Lil Bellsy turned up the heat even more than Cotton, going braless and with just her nipples covered with tassels.
However, Bridges doesn’t see the new wave of fighters as competition when it comes to putting on a show while tipping the scales.
“I was a pioneer of the lingerie weigh-in,” Bridges continued. “That’s my thing. I don’t feel like I need to take any more clothes off or be any more nude to up the ante, because lingerie is my thing.
“The girls coming through now don’t really have anywhere else to go except things like tape, tassels or more revealing outfits if they want that same shock factor!”
The 39-year-old joked that when she first arrived on the boxing scene, fans were stunned by her weigh-in outfits. Now, however, she believes audiences have become “desensitised to lingerie” after seeing her do it for so many years.
Across her career, the adopted Brit, who now fights out of Yorkshire, has wowed fans with her iconic weigh-ins – including ahead of her comeback fight after giving birth to her son, Ezerra, with partner and fellow boxer Kell Brook.
Speaking earlier this year, Bridges joked there was a “little bit” of nerves before appearing on the scales that time, but “nowhere near as much” as she had for the fight itself.
She said: “It’s funny because I started this whole weigh-in thing, the lingerie, and I started making it a thing, like a little mini event for me, because of my bodybuilding past.
“So I always made a weigh-in a thing. And then that kind of got momentum, and other girls started doing it, which is great. MVP went the whole next level and did a whole ceremonial weigh-in.
“And it was like a proper show. Dress rehearsal walking out. I was like, Jesus Christ, this is really putting the pressure on me. I just wanted to do my own thing and be cute!
“Usually that first weigh-in is in a hotel, you just rock up looking scruffy in your undies and get on the scales and go, yes, sweet, sweet, sweet. Can I go eat now?
“And this one was like, ‘Oh my God’, this is all filmed as well. So you’ve got to look good for that too. It was intense, but it was good!”
Bridges has previously vowed that she won’t stop showing off her “massive boobs” if it get eyes on women’s boxing, stressing that it’s her job to then back that up with impressive performances in the ring.
And the fan favourite says she understands why some female fighters are pushing boundaries more and more with nudity at weigh-ins – even if it’s something she’d never do.
She told us: “If people want attention now, they have to do something more creative. I’m all for it. They’re getting people talking, selling fights, gaining followers, and making money. I understand exactly what they’re doing!
“Personally, it’s not something I want to do. For me, it’s a step too far. But even though they’re not doing lingerie, I’ll still get tagged and compared. I was the first person to really ruffle feathers with it. People will always remember that!”