This past Saturday, British women’s super bantamweight unified champion Ellie Scotney proved to be in a class by herself as she stormed to a unanimous decision victory over New Zealand challenger Mea Motu. With the two fighters largely regarded as one of the best in their division, their clash would be largely overshadowed in marketing and placement by the headlining match of Dalton Smith who faced a rather inconsequential opponent. The event, promoted by Matchroom, was held at the Nottingham Arena in Nottingham on January 25.
Ellie Scotney Vs. Mea Motu
Surprisingly, the only world title contest on the card between super bantamweight (122 lbs) champion Ellie Scotney (10-0, 0 KO’s) and Mea Motu (20-1, 8 KO’s) was not even held as the co-main event, despite both fighters heading into the ring undefeated. Both Scotney’s WBO and IBF titles were put on the line.
The fight began dramatically, with Scotney sustaining a significant cut above her left eye in the first round due to an accidental headbutt. Despite the injury, she maintained composure and effectively utilized her jab and lateral movement to control the bout.
Motu, known for her relentless forward pressure, struggled to land significant punches against Scotney’s defensive strategy, and what was expected to be an equal contest ended up being a virtual shutout as Scotney coursed through the 10 rounds easier than expected.
The bout would be a showcase for how boxing skill and ring IQ could make a steep difference as Motu’s approach seemed to backfire as Scotney combined her acute counterpunching abilities with her boxing to eventually become declared the winner by unanimous decision (UD)―retaining her WBO and IBF titles in the process.
With her victory, Ellie Scotney continues to remain one of three champions in her division and after defeating a very ready and game challenger in Mea Motu, a unification fight should naturally be the next course for her. The other two champions in the division are WBA beltholder Nazarena Romero (14-0-2, 8 KO’s) from Argentina, and Mexican champion Yamileth Mercado (24-3, 6 KO’s) who currently holds the WBC title.
Main Event & Undercard Fights:
- British super lightweight (140 lbs) contender Dalton Smith (17-0, 13 KO’s) headlined Matchroom’s card against French contender Walid Ouizza (19-3, 8 KO’s) in a 12-round bout and managed to impress with a 1st-round knockout (KO) victory. However, despite the stupendous performance, the matchmaking raises plenty of eyebrows, with Ouizza notably not included in any of the main sanctioning bodies’ rankings and not considered even a fringe contender. Smith retained his WBC Silver 140-pound title and further won the vacant EBU European title.
- On the undercard, a 12-round welterweight (147 lbs) bout between Harry Scarff (13-4, 3 KO’s) and Conah Walker (15-3-1, 6 KO’s) proved to be one of the most surprising contests on the card as Scarff would go on to virtually dominate each round, only to find himself stopped in the 11th round by Walker who appeared to be clearly losing on the scorecards. Walker won both the BBBofC British and Commonwealth Boxing Council titles from Scarff as a result of his upset victory.
