{"id":401222,"date":"2026-01-09T04:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/401222\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T04:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T04:30:09","slug":"i-was-determined-to-prove-it-australian-boxer-ebanie-bridges-breaks-silence-days-after-comeback-loss-following-motherhood-international-sports-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/401222\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI was determined to prove it\u201d: Australian boxer Ebanie Bridges breaks silence days after comeback loss following motherhood | International Sports News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cIEbanie Bridges. Image via: Jason McCawley\/ Getty Images Ebanie Bridges returned to the ring with clear intent. The former IBF bantamweight champion stepped back into competition after a two-year absence and months after giving birth. She was aware that the challenge ahead would test her years of experience. Later, her comeback bout ended in defeat; however, the result was not the defining moment of her return.Five days after losing a unanimous decision to Alexis Araiza Mones in Puerto Rico, Bridges addressed her future publicly. The Australian fighter chose honesty over excuses, outlining what the fight represented after motherhood and a long road back to full fitness. Her message focused on effort, accountability, and the decision to return at all.<\/p>\n

Ebanie Bridges comeback loss sparks open response after return to the ring<\/p>\n

\"Ebanie<\/p>\n

Ebanie Bridges. Image via: REUTERS<\/p>\n

Bridges made her Most Valuable Promotions debut on January 3 after welcoming her son, Ezerra Ray, in March 2025. Facing Mones on the Amanda Serrano undercard, Bridges went the distance but lost on all three scorecards. It marked her first professional bout since December 2023.Soon after, Bridges shared her thoughts on social media, writing, \u201cWell, they do say \u2018if you try, you may fail, but if you don\u2019t try, you are guaranteed failure\u2019.\u201d She followed by explaining the personal significance of returning within a year of giving birth. \u201cI might not have gotten the \u2018W\u2019, but I said I\u2019d get back in the ring in the first year after giving birth and that, for me, was an achievement in itself.\u201dBridges also acknowledged her opponent\u2019s performance, stating, \u201cIt was a tough fight to come back to after 2 years out and a baby. Alexis likes to bring it and we had a war.\u201d She added, \u201cI congratulate her and her team and I wish her great success in her career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebanie Bridges reflects on motherhood, recovery, and her boxing future<\/p>\n

Beyond the result, Bridges spoke candidly about the physical and emotional demands of her return. She detailed the strain of rebuilding fitness after pregnancy and surgery while preparing for elite competition. \u201cI was determined to prove having a baby doesn\u2019t mean you have to retire\/quit\/stop the things you love, or give up on your own goals and dreams.\u201dHer motivation extended beyond the ring. \u201cI wanted to inspire mums, I wanted to make my son, Ezerra, proud, and I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.\u201d Bridges described the training camp as exhausting and relentless, admitting there were moments when quitting felt tempting. \u201cThe camp was beyond hard, emotionally and physically.\u201dDespite the setback, Bridges made her intentions clear. \u201cNow I\u2019ve got that one out of the way, I want to get straight back in, after spending some time with my son and Kell Brook.\u201d With her profile, experience, and support within the sport, Bridges remains firmly in the picture as she plans the next chapter of her boxing career.Also Read: Alexander Gustafsson’s net worth: What the former UFC contender earned over his career<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ebanie Bridges. Image via: Jason McCawley\/ Getty Images Ebanie Bridges returned to the ring with clear intent. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,213355,802,213356,41152,213354,213357,213358,213360,213359,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-401222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian-boxer-ebanie-bridges","11":"tag-boxing","12":"tag-boxing-after-motherhood","13":"tag-ebanie-bridges","14":"tag-ebanie-bridges-comeback","15":"tag-ebanie-bridges-future-plans","16":"tag-ibf-bantamweight-champion","17":"tag-most-valuable-promotions-debut","18":"tag-motherhood-and-boxing","19":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}