"Surely I get fighter of the year!" Ellie Scotney exclaimed after delivering an unforgettable performance on Easter Sunday, when she out‑pointed Mayelli Flores over a relentless ten‑round war. The bout was a non‑stop barrage of punches, with both athletes exchanging blows at a break‑neck pace that left fans and commentators alike in awe.
In the end, Scotney secured a unanimous decision, unifying all four major world titles in the super‑bantamweight division and cementing her status as Britain’s youngest undisputed champion in the modern four‑belt era. Scotney described the encounter as "ridiculous" and highlighted the sheer intensity of the action. "I think we threw a punch every two seconds," she told Sky Sports.
"Everyone was saying someone was going to run out of steam, but it just kept going. It was a barnstormer. I've always wanted to be part of a fight like that, and to cap it with an undisputed title makes it even more meaningful.
Growing up watching those wild fights, being in one like this was just wicked." The fight demanded not only skill but also a massive physical and mental toll. In the second half of the contest, Scotney had to seize the momentum. "In the sixth round she caught me with a flurry of shots on the ropes, and something just snapped inside me – I went straight at her," the Catford native recalled.
She noted that Flores tends to start strong and finish strong, and while Flores was throwing a high volume of punches, it was Scotney’s cleaner, more precise shots that began to find their mark. The road to that night was anything but smooth. Six weeks before the showdown, Scotney suffered a torn calf muscle that forced her to stop running, forcing her to play catch‑up in her training camp. "Little things went wrong in the gym as well," she admitted.
A nerve irritation in her arm and the inevitable challenges of cutting weight to make super‑bantamweight added further strain. "Your biggest fight and everything comes at once.
A nerve in my arm was acting up, and then the cut was tight – it was mad. Boxing on Resurrection Sunday I knew it would come at a cost, and I had to really carry the cross during fight week. It was testing," she said. During the fight itself, the injuries resurfaced.
"My calf acted up again in the fifth round, then my quads blew up, so I was standing opposite someone ready to fire every second… it was a long night," Scotney recounted. Despite the pain, she persisted, trading blows with Flores at a ferocious pace.
"To fight at that speed while dealing with everything that went wrong in the camp was hard, but I prevailed on one of the greatest nights I've ever been a part of," she reflected. When the final bell rang, the sense of triumph washed over the aches and bruises. "The feeling that overtook all the aches and pains was a peace I'd never felt before.
I feel like I'm floating," Scotney said, describing the elation that followed her historic victory. Looking ahead, Scotney’s ambition remains undiminished.
With only twelve professional fights under her belt, she acknowledges there is still much to learn and achieve. "There's so much for me to learn, there's so much for me to do, and I've only had twelve fights," she noted. The next logical step could be moving up in weight. "I've completed the collection, I've ticked off super‑bantamweight.
I've been waiting to make the move for a long while. So I'll sit down with the team and decide the next steps," she explained. In the featherweight division, the landscape is already stacked with champions: Amanda Serrano holds the WBO and WBA belts, Tiara Brown is the WBC champion, and Nina Meinke carries the IBF title. Scotney’s competitive nature drives her toward new challenges.
"I'm a person that always wants a challenge and that always comes with a champion. So I'm going to sit down with the team and see what steps are next," she affirmed. "If I could, I'd go straight into another world‑title fight. I just want a challenge.
It lights something in me." Beyond the ring, Scotney’s story resonates as a testament to resilience and determination. Overcoming a torn calf, a nerve issue, and the grueling weight cut, she still managed to dominate a fight that many pundits are calling the best of 2026. Her victory not only adds four belts to her résumé but also positions her as a rising star poised to take on even greater obstacles, whether that means conquering a new weight class or seeking fresh rivalries with the reigning featherweight champions. The boxing world will be watching closely as Scotney charts the next chapter of her already remarkable career.