Stylish Scotney battles through cut to retain world titles

Briton Ellie Scotney outpointed a tougher-than-expected Mea Motu in a stylish defence of her IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine super-bantamweight titles at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.

Scotney, 27, was made to work against the New Zealander, who continued to come forward throughout the 10 rounds, but the Londoner’s superior skills prevailed.

The winner, who suffered a cut in the first round, won by a unanimous vote, with all three judges scoring 99-91.

“I’m not too happy with my performance. I feel like I hurt her at times, but she was a tough fighter”, Scotney said.

She extends her unbeaten record to 10 wins, as New Zealander Motu, 35, was defeated for the first time in 21 professional bouts.

It was far from an easy day at the office, but Scotney proved her worth against a game challenger.

In round one, the home fighter had a satisfying start, landing a clinching left hook and a body jab, before the head-collision caused blood to pour down her left eye.

Scotney’s corner went to work on the cut between rounds. After an unintentional head-cursory incident earlier this month, Caroline Dubois’ world-title defense came to a technical draw.

Motu landed an impressive combination in the fourth round, demonstrating strong fundamentals and willingness to trade.

However, Scotney’s quick feet gave her a head start in the air. The Catford fighter expertly veered off the side of the range before switching attacks to the head and body.

In the fifth minute, Motu received two body shots, an uppercut, and three clean rights.

“Shane, shall I go forward”?, Scotney asker her trainer, Shane McGuigan, before the seventh.

Motu, vying to become New Zealand’s first unified world champion, did not alter her gameplan but Scotney was wise to it.

An all-female card on 8 March in London, headlined by Natasha Jonas v Lauren Price, signals the depth of talent in women’s boxing.

Despite their accomplishments, a number of female fighters, such as world champions Scotney and Caroline Dubois, are still not awarded main event status.

In fact, Scotney-Motu was third from top billing with the first bell sounding to a half-empty arena, even with the top tier of the venue closed off, at around 20: 00 GMT.

Promoters Matchroom are confident that Scotney’s victories over WBC champion Yamileth Mercado and WBA champion Nazarena Romero will bring the division together for the first time this year. She will be able to become a household name with an undisputed title tag.

A move up to featherweight to challenge for a world title is Scotney’s longer-term plan.

“I want to be undisputed, but people have to be willing to fight and people have to be willing to pay”, she said.