Established world champion Ellie Scotney describes the struggle for reward and recognition

Last
weekend, Ellie Scotney flew across the Irish Sea to watch her friend, Robbie
Davies Jnr beat Javier Fortuna in Belfast.

Next
weekend you might bump into the IBF and WBO super bantamweight champion at the
York Hall or at an amateur club show.

As
much as Scotney loves boxing, the novelty of turning up to shows as a supporter
as opposed to turning up to fight is beginning to wear thin. There are certain
contests she’s more invested in than others, however.

“When
I’m watching a friend or someone like Robbie, I’m a nervous wreck. It
makes me feel ill so, in that moment, and when they win, it’s mad,” Scotney,
9-0, told BoxingScene.

“Second
hand happiness is mental, isn’t it? The feeling you get is insane so when
I go to nights like that, it takes my mind off that I’m not boxing and it
doesn’t enter my head so going there helps me.

“But
when you go to a casual show or you watch one on TV though…”

Scotney
hates waiting, she just wants to fight. Unfortunately, she has had to get used
to not doing so. 

She
has boxed only nine times since turning professional four years ago and just
when it looked like she would finally get the chance to capitalize on the
momentum she created by collecting another super bantamweight division against
Segolene Lefebvre in April, bad luck struck. 

No
sooner had she been given a date for a mandatory defense of her titles against
New Zealand’s tough Mea Motu, than a calf injury forced her out of the gym.

Desperate
to fight and unsure as to just how long she would need to wait for a new date,
Scotney agonized over withdrawing but eventually had to accept that this isn’t
the time for risks. 

Hopes
that the fight could be rescheduled quickly evaporated and Scotney has had to
take a ticket and join the back of the queue. 

“I
couldn’t watch the Manchester show I was supposed to have been on,” she said.
“I went out the house and turned my phone off for a couple of days. It’s sickening
when you’re having to watch it and I’m a massive boxing fan. So the fact
it’s brought me to that point, it’s worrying at times.”

It
would be tragic if boxing politics ground down the Londoner’s enthusiasm.

Scotney
is one of the purest fighters in British boxing. She lives for the sport but,
even if it is something as simple as the Mars bar and Ribena she received for
first following her brother to the gym, she also loves the idea of being
rewarded for her efforts.  

Yes,
she has unified two super bantamweight titles within nine fights but outside of
the streets surrounding her home in Catford, her efforts go largely
unrecognized.

When
Scotney talks about getting her just deserts she isn’t only talking about
bigger paychecks.

Yes,
money is important for a 26-year-old attempting to build a life outside the
sport but that would come hand in hand with the activity and opportunities that
Scotney believes her achievements deserve.

Scotney
hasn’t been brought up to complain and pestering and nagging don’t sit well
with her but she has realized that, from now on, she is going to have to be
more assertive. 

After
all, if you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always
got. 

“It’s
more like I feel I’ve accomplished the pressure goals. I’ve done some of
the things I felt I should do when I turned over,” she said.

“I
just think that for what I’ve got, everything else doesn’t seem to match
up. 

“My
last fight, for instance, I come out of that fight and – hand on my heart
– I can tell you I haven’t ever had that sort of feeling. That’s probably the
happiest I’ve ever been. You think ‘This is it, this will be the
turning point for me.’

“I
know humble Ellie has always been the Ellie but from now on, I’ve
not exactly gotta get a chip on my shoulder but I’ve gotta be more demanding, I
guess.

“All
the work you’ve put in over the years, you reap what you sow and I’m just like,
‘Hang on a minute, when’s that bit coming?’ That’s kind of where we’re
at.” 

Scotney
will readily admit that she could have pushed her own cause a little harder at
times but, maybe naively, she believed that actions would speak louder than
words. 

Outside
of the ring, Scotney is one of the most popular fighters in British boxing but
when she turned professional she didn’t do so with the intention of becoming
famous or talking her way to the top.

Scotney
never benefited from the kind of regular routine wins that other prospects get
where a good piece of matchmaking can make a fighter look spectacular and
provide them with much needed camera time. 

Instead,
Scotney has been fighting hardened former or existing world champions since her
fourth fight. It is hard to criticize an approach which has seen her accomplish
her childhood dreams but it hasn’t opened the doors she hoped it would. 

Scotney
falls back in love with the sport once she signs a contract to fight but, while
waiting to do so, hates business outside of the ropes. 

“I
feel like your boxing style can sometimes represent who you are and I feel
like I can kind of do that in a good way.

“Because
I’ve always stayed true to myself, I’d never question any decision or the
way I go about things but that bit, I’ve never understood. I feel like
I’ve done everything right. I could go to a show and talk to anyone and
everyone like I’ve known them forever and I’m just like, ‘Hang on a
minute, what’s the missing part that no one wants to push?’ I think I’m
missing that part.”

Frustratingly,
she has no real idea why she hasn’t been pushed more. 

“No, I
wish I did because if you knew, you would change it, wouldn’t you? But I
feel like when I look back, it’s probably been the pattern of my career
from the get-go.

“I’ve
always had to earn the recognition. I’ve always took the harder
fights because that was more their selling point if that makes any sense.”

In
female boxing, the big names transcend the sport. A promising female fighter
can collect an armful of title belts and put together a long unbeaten run but
in order to make people really sit up and take notice, they need to take one of
those prized scalps

As a
super bantamweight, Scotney doesn’t have the same kind of star making opponents
as the women fighting 15lbs up the weight scale and – Mea Motu apart – nobody
seems keen on calling her name.

However,
she is within touching distance of two fighters who would provide her with the
challenges and platform she is desperate for.

Multi-weight
world champion, Amanda Serrano, is a giant of the sport and WBC featherweight
title holder, Skye Nicolson, has been developed into a major name. 

Given
the choice, going up in weight and earning her respect is exactly the way
Scotney would choose to do it. 

All
she wants is the opportunity. 

“Obviously,
I’ve got my mandatory next and everything starts with that. I’m treating the
fight with Motu as the most important of my career. If I want to move on, I
have to beat her. I want to put in a good performance and make sure I stay in
people’s memories from now on,” Scotney said.

“After
that I want to unify. Then go undisputed. Go Mercado [the WBC champion] and
then Romero [the WBA title holder], then up to featherweight. That would be my
ideal plan but if I box Motu and then the unification is hard to deal
with, I’ll be moving up and chasing the champions at
featherweight whether that’s Skye or Serrano. 100 per cent,” she said.

“They’re
the type of big fights where people will take notice and with that comes money,
recognition and being a two-weight world champion.

“You’ve
got to recognise the big name girls. It’s almost as if their names themselves
are world titles because we know in female boxing that world title fights can
come very quickly.

“Unifying
will make you break out a bit. Become undisputed and you’re recognised but
the bigger fights with the big girls, sometimes they make more sense than the
titles. It’s like you just need the name to kind of get the worth
financially and to be noticed as a breakout.”