Another challenger coming off a loss has been lined up to face Ebanie Bridges.
BoxingScene.com has learned that former two-time junior bantamweight titlist Miyo Yoshida has been secured to challenge Australia’s Bridges for her IBF bantamweight belt. The fight was made one day after it was confirmed that Sydney’s Avril Mathie was forced to withdraw from the December 9 clash due to an undisclosed injury.
Bridges-Yoshida will serve as one of two title fights on a DAZN Pay-Per-View. The event is topped by the Regis Prograis-Devin Haney grudge match for Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight belt at the Chase Center, home to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, California.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix was the first to report the new replacement. Boxing Scene has confirmed that it was the real Mannix and not an AI version of the award-winning boxing and basketball writer.
Bridges (9-1, 4KOs) will attempt the second defense of the IBF bantamweight title in her first bout in the U.S. in nearly four years. The 37-year-old New South Wales native won her title in a ten-round decision over Maria Cecilia Roman last March at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. She followed up with an eighth-round knockout of countrywoman and bitter rival Shannon O’Connell last December 10 also at First Direct Arena.
Most of this year was spent recovering from injuries before she secured a place on the Prograis-Haney card. She will fight in the U.S. for just the second time; her previous performance came in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic.
Bridges was previously due to enter an all-Australia clash versus Mathie (8-1-1, 3KOs), who was in line to challenge for her first title despite having lost her last fight. The Miami-based boxer and model dropped a competitive but clear ten-round decision to Ramla Ali on February 4 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City.
Yoshida
The 35-year-old Japanese boxer relocated to New York in search of advancing her career. Her post title reign journey began with a win over Indeya Smith on April 27 at Sony Hall in New York City. Her good fortune ran out in her most recent bout, a ten-round decision over Dallas’ Shurretta Metcalf on November 7 at Edison Ballroom, also in NYC.
Despite the setback, Yoshida made herself available for a shot to become a three-time majort titlist spanning two weight divisions.
Headlining the show, Prograis (29-1, 24KOs) will attempt the second defense of his WBC junior welterweight title. The New Orleans-bred, Houston-based southpaw outpointed Danielto Zorrilla over twelve-rounds in his New Orleans childhood hometown this past June. He now travels to his opponent’s birth town.
Haney (30-0, 15KOs) parks his lineal and unified lightweight championship reign in a bid to become a two-division champ. The 25-year-old was born in San Francisco and lived in Oakland before they relocated to Las Vegas, where he currently resides. The bout will mark his first in the Bay Area.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox