AFTER joining YouTube star Jake Paul’s promotional stable, unified world super-bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney looks to have a glittering future ahead of her.
Ten comprehensive points victories have already seen the 27-year-old establish herself as one of the best, if not the number-one fighter, at 122lbs.
But with an opportunity to add another strap to her collection – now including the IBF and WBO titles – against WBC champion Yamileth Mercado, any doubt over her super-bantamweight supremacy could soon be removed.
The pair will square off at Madison Square Garden, New York, on July 11, featuring on the undercard of Irish phenom Katie Taylor’s trilogy showdown with Amanda Serrano.
News of her upcoming unification arrived shortly after Scotney, 10-0, inked a deal with Paul’s rapidly growing outfit, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), last month.
Naturally, with MVP’s stable boasting an array of talent in women’s boxing, it appears to be a logical, and indeed lucrative, decision for the Londoner’s career moving forward.
Mercado, who comes off a unanimous decision victory over Ramla Ali, just so happens to be a name that has occupied Scotney’s hit list for quite some time.
But during her years under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing banner, it seemed that money was always an issue when it came to getting the unification over the line.
“MVP and Jake Paul pulled out the cheque book,” Scotney’s head coach, Shane McGuigan, told Boxing News.
“Obviously, Mercado wanted a lot of money and Eddie [Hearn] didn’t want to pay [for the fight]. Whether that’s right or wrong, Ellie wants [the WBC] belt either way.”
Should she get past Mercado, the opportunities for Scotney are seemingly endless, with MVP promoting several notable names in and around her weight class.
And while she has previously teased a move up to 126lbs, McGuigan believes that, with the potential matchups that are available, the crafty technician could benefit from remaining at super-bantamweight for a short while longer.
“She’s not easy on the weight, but she can still to do it,” he added. “She’s going to be 28 [years old] this year, so I think if you’re still [making 122lbs] when you’re 28 then you’re in the right weight category.
“It will mainly be about opportunities. MVP has just signed Ramla [Ali], which could be a good fight.
“They’ve also got [unified champion Dina Thorsland], who’s a bantamweight, but she’s talking about moving up to featherweight, or even super-featherweight.
“We’ll try and mix in with some of those names. You’ve got [undisputed super-featherweight champion Alysia Baumgardner], too, who’s talked about coming down to featherweight.”
