{"id":610332,"date":"2026-04-16T08:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/610332\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:40:11","slug":"ellie-scotney-made-boxing-history-now-jake-paul-owes-her-a-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/610332\/","title":{"rendered":"Ellie Scotney made boxing history \u2013 now Jake Paul owes her a car"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Ellie Scotney, it all started with a Mars bar and a Ribena. As a \u201cchild of God\u201d, Scotney now avoids temptation at all costs, but her nine-year-old self was somewhat less disciplined. In the long run, it was for the best; the allure of a sugar rush brought her to her first boxing<\/a> gym, fuelling her journey to the present day, where she has just become Britain\u2019s youngest-ever undisputed champion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first walked into a gym at nine, because my brother boxed,\u201d Scotney tells The Independent, \u201cand I always mess around and tell the story that he came home with a Mars bar and a Ribena \u2013 and I was like: \u2018I want that!\u2019 He wouldn\u2019t let me go with him, but my cousin ended up taking me. I stopped because women\u2019s boxing wasn\u2019t a thing; I was the only female, I couldn\u2019t get fights. I only did it for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s strange to think this could have been the end of Scotney\u2019s journey. But eight years later, the Catford local returned to the gym, and to the sport. At that time, women\u2019s boxing may not have been the \u201cthing\u201d it is now, but Scotney is part of a new generation of role models, who have driven the sport through all predicted barriers.<\/p>\n

\"Ellie<\/p>\n

Ellie Scotney looks to the sky after winning undisputed status at super-bantamweight (PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cI walk in the gym now, and there\u2019s probably as many girls as boys, and the girls are really good,\u201d Scotney says with a smile \u2013 but then she always seems to be smiling. \u201cI wish I was that good at that age! As long as we keep pushing doors open, the ones that come behind us will have it even smoother. And the ones that went before us really took the load.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the 28-year-old cites trailblazers like Jane Couch, Christy Martin and Katie Taylor, but in beating Mayelli Flores on 5 April to become the undisputed super-bantamweight champion, Scotney herself has emerged as a true role model.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not necessarily a responsibility that Scotney has dwelled on, yet she says, \u201cWhen I meet someone, I just want them to feel like they\u2019re exactly the same as me. I want them to feel like, \u2018I\u2019ve known that girl forever.\u2019 And I\u2019m an encourager. My mum gets annoyed at me, because if I see someone in the street, I\u2019ll just start talking to anyone! It\u2019s not wanting to be a role model; it\u2019s just making someone, who doesn\u2019t feel like anything, feel like something. If I can do that by making a bit of time for them, that\u2019s key.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotney mentions her family often, highlighting her mother and stressing: \u201cMy mum loves it. I think she aged about 10 years [during the Flores fight], but the joy and the backing my family give… it\u2019s just endless. They all play a role. Some give me tough love, some are a bit softer and carry my bags, some are like: \u2018You carry mine!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Scotney\u2019s family were the focus of a video package that played before she outfought Flores in a punishing yet technical showdown. And perhaps the most touching moment in that video saw Scotney receive a voice message from her late nan, who passed away in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"Scotney<\/p>\n

Scotney dished out immense punishment to Mayelli Flores, who kept coming forward regardless (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really weird, because when I listened to it, I felt like she was in the room with me,\u201d Scotney reflects. \u201cShe was genuinely my best friend, and she loved boxing. I\u2019d go down [to see her] every weekend before I boxed, I still do now; my uncle lives in the house.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI go into her room and talk to her like she\u2019s there. It\u2019s just a routine, and in her ways, I feel like she shows me she is [still there]. We talk about fighters in the family, who\u2019s the natural one, and I always say my nan. We were blessed that she lived 99 years. She was so witty, so sharp, but she just had that warmth to her that would carry any room she was in. You\u2019d feel safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time I\u2019d go down [to see her], she\u2019d say: \u2018You\u2019re gonna win, you know? I\u2019ll say a prayer for you.\u2019 Thank God she was here to witness me win my first world title, and we made a little promise; she was like: \u2018You complete the collection.\u2019 I just pray that she was watching from up there, because we got there in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this particular answer, Scotney\u2019s faith arises as a topic once more. \u201cIt\u2019s my firm foundation,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my eyes, Jesus is at the centre of it all. I wasn\u2019t born in a religious household, but when I was 19, I started to go to church. My mum got baptised in February. It\u2019s been a journey. I\u2019ve seen God really work through the people around me. Fight week, I really saw it. Around me, people who never believed in God, believed in God. Even fighting on the Day of Resurrection: I wasn\u2019t meant to, [my fight had] got delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Scotney<\/p>\n

Scotney after the final bell of her 10-round shootout with Flores (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Throughout the night on which she beat Flores at London\u2019s Olympia, Scotney\u2019s faith remained a focal point.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was really hard, because one of my best friends opened the card and got stopped,\u201d Scotney says of Emma Dolan<\/a>. \u201cMy pastor was up to pray with me, and I went to say: \u2018How\u2019s Emma getting on?\u2019 And Shane [McGuigan, coach] just beelined for me, like, \u2018Ellie, Ellie.\u2019 I was a bit confused, and he said: \u2018Look, the towel\u2019s come in.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cTo witness one of your best friends not fulfil their dream, it\u2019s hard; it shows you the reality of boxing. You want to be there for your friend, but there\u2019s so many elements to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In light of the damage and disappointment in Dolan\u2019s fight, and in comparison to bigger topics like faith, it feels odd to ask about Jake Paul<\/a>\u2019s offer to buy Scotney a car if she won \u2013\u00a0yet it was one of the main talking points on fight week.<\/p>\n

Paul, a co-promoter of the fight card<\/a>, has made no purchase yet, only because Scotney still needs a driving licence. \u201cI\u2019m terrible on the bumper cars!\u201d she says, somewhat ominously. Let\u2019s hope her driving skills grow to match her boxing skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Ellie Scotney, it all started with a Mars bar and a Ribena. As a \u201cchild of God\u201d,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,285759,296713,85,13938],"class_list":["post-610332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-ellie-scotney","tag-mayelli-flores","tag-sports","tag-womens-boxing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610332","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=610332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}