Ellie Scotney was among the first to take to social media the moment she saw her stablemate win a major title just two weeks ago.
“Champion of the f------ world,” Scotney exclaimed the moment Chris Billam-Smith’s hand was raised in victory as he dethroned unbeaten WBO cruiserweight titlist Lawrence Okolie. “How about THAT?”
The time has now come for the unbeaten contender to bring another belt back to trainer Shane McGuigan’s gym.
Original plans called for Scotney (6-0, 0KOs) to actually go out one week before “CBS,” However, her title bid versus IBF junior featherweight titlist Cherneka Johnson (15-1, 6KOs) was pulled from the Chantelle Cameron-Katie Taylor show in Dublin for reasons far beyond Scotney’s control.
The two will now meet this Saturday on DAZN from OVO Arena Wembley, in supporting capacity to the Sunny Edwards-Andres Campos IBF flyweight title fight. The three week-delay will leave Catford’s Scotney out of the ring for more than seven months.
"Two world champions within fourteen days,” noted Scotney. “The gym’s flying and it’s on me now.”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for… I can’t even put a time on it. It’s my time to shine and I will show on Saturday.
Despite the career-long gap between fights, the talented and charismatic 25-year-old is viewed by bet366 sportsbook as a -500 favorite to prevail. Johnson—a New Zealander who lives and trains in Melbourne—attempts her second defense as she fights for the first time outside of Australia.
Billam-Smith was an underdog in his title bid versus Okolie, his former stablemate whom the Bournemouth native floored three times en route to an upset win on May 27 in his hometown. Scotney could not have been more over the moon with the performance, which in fact has further fueled her desire to win this weekend and change her life.
"I’ve got to go out there and deliver on Saturday night," noted Scotney. "I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to walk out as the IBF champion of the world.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox