A Boxing Memory: Maria Cecilia Roman vs. Ebanie Bridges

A Boxing Memory: Maria Cecilia Roman vs. Ebanie Bridges

It was her moment of truth. Her second opportunity at winning a world title and completing a quite remarkable story. The one-time bodybuilder who switched to boxing late in her life. There was always an interest in martial arts. A black belt in karate, before switching to Muay Thai and kickboxing in her teenage years. A boyfriend at the time had an interest in boxing, and Bridges followed him. The story started.

Bridges was a few weeks shy of her 30th birthday when she had her first amateur fight. After an amateur career that included two National Golden Gloves titles, Bridges turned pro. The first professional fight was in 2019. Knocked down in the opening seconds by Mahiecka Pareno, the fall snapped her ankle. Bridges got up and still emerged victorious. It took two surgeries, and extensive rehabilitation, but Bridges returned with a mission to become a somewhat unlikely world champion. The odds were seemingly against her.

“I set a goal when I turned pro: I want to be a world champion,” Bridges once said. “I grafted in every area of my life that was needed to make this dream come true. I sacrificed so much. Cried so much. But never stopped believing.”

In the depths of lockdown and unknown to the masses, Bridges got herself noticed. A relentless grind of interviews and a few other methods got her a name out there. Eddie Hearn brought her over to fight Shannon Courtenay for the vacant WBA world bantamweight title in 2021. Bridges lost on points, but had proved her point in a forgotten classic. Hearn signed her, and after two wins on UK soil, a long-reigning world champion was brought over to Leeds to defend her IBF bauble against the polarising Australian. Bridges had secured her second, and probably, final opportunity at realising her dream.

Maria Cecilia Roman won the IBF world bantamweight title in 2017 and still held that title in March 2022 after seven successful defences. If experience was the key to victory at the Leeds Direct Arena, Roman looked nailed on to retain her title once again.

Bridges was still struggling with the right hand that she had injured in her previous fight six months earlier, but the challenger fought through the pain barrier on a night where she just wouldn’t be denied. Bridges was inspired and won beyond doubt.

The pace was relentless. Bridges started fast, and there were concerns at ringside that she had started too fast. But crucially, she was putting rounds in the bank. The Argentinian champion just couldn’t find a foothold in the fight. Roman found some semblance of success down the stretch, but she had given herself far too much to do. That incredibly quick start from Bridges had proven pivotal. Tactically, Bridges got it right. But under the guidance of Mark Tibbs, Bridges also proved that she was a much better boxer than she is often given credit for.

After ten good, hard rounds, the decision was a mere formality. Roman had finally been relieved of her IBF title. One judge saw it to Bridges 100-91, which was maybe a little harsh on Roman. Two scores of 97-93 were a little closer to reality. However you scored it, there was little doubt who had won. Not for the first time in her life, Ebanie Bridges had backed herself against the odds and won.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing