Ellie Scotney eased to the fourth defence of her IBF super-bantamweight title and the second of her title from the WBO when she earned a unanimous decision over Mea Motu.
At the conclusion of 10 largely one-sided rounds at the Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England, the Londoner was deservedly awarded three scores of 99-91, confirming that she had inflicted the first defeat of Motu’s 21-fight professional career.
Motu, 35 and from New Zealand, had been on course to challenge Scotney in October 2024 – four years after, on the same evening, they both turned professional. Their fight date was postponed, however, and Scotney’s frustration built until three months later it contributed to her again impressing at world level.
The 26 year old largely outworked Motu from the opening bell, and complemented doing so with her superior accuracy and speed. She landed the evening’s first eye-catching punch in the form of a left hook, but was threatened by the appearance of a cut by her left eye following an accidental clash of heads.
To the credit of both she and her corner, by the time she returned for the start of the second round her cut was having minimal impact and didn’t do so again for the remaining nine. She then proceeded to impress with a straight left hand and a right-left combination, and thereafter consistently relished her opponent’s flat feet.
Scotney was caught early in the third but responded with a left jab that snapped back Motu’s head and then later a right hand. Motu’s most impressive round followed in the fourth, when she landed successive left hands and also a right, and was hurt with only a right in response.
Successive right uppercuts, followed by a left and two further successive right hands, demonstrated, in the fifth, that the champion had established her sense of timing and range. A further right hand enhanced the impression of her growing dominance, as did right hands, again, throughout the sixth.
Her potent right hand, complemented by occasional rights to the body, maintained Scotney’s upwards momentum until the 10th round, when the crude Motu wildly launched an assault in an attempt to avoid her first defeat.
Scotney had regardless anticipated her doing so, and largely absorbed her pressure before confirmation followed of her 10th professional win.
The junior lightweight Ibrahim Sulaimaan had by then defeated Reuquen Cona Facundo Arce over eight rounds. Sulaimaan fought with aggression from the opening bell, succeeded with his left uppercut early on, and built with it throughout the opening two rounds. Arce responded by attempting to advance, but Sulaimaan eluded his attacks and, in turn, targeted his body until being awarded a score of 80-72.
Hamzah Uddin defeated Misael Ezequiel Graffioli over eight rounds at flyweight. Uddin, as has come to be expected of him, started with his hands low and by throwing his jab with speed and accuracy. As the rounds progressed he switched up his attacks, and in the third he caught Craffioli with an accurate right uppercut, and ultimately finished strongly to win via a score of 80-72.
The cruiserweight Traie Duberry recorded victory over Camilo Castagno. In the second round he pressed forwards, pinned Castagno in the corner, and unloaded a barrage of shots that sent him to the canvas. In the fourth Duberry then forced the referee Pete McCormack to issue a further count when landing another right hand, which this time sent Castagno face first into the ropes. He had been easing to victory but was then dropped heavily with a looping left hand with seconds remaining of the sixth and final round. He returned to his feet on unsteady legs but heard the final bell strike as the referee concluded his count and awarded him a score of 59-53.
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