Boxing Apr 07, 2026

Barry McGuigan: 'People are overlooking how good Ellie Scotney is and what she’s achieved. She's phenomenal'

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Barry McGuigan: 'People are overlooking how good Ellie Scotney is and what she’s achieved. She's phenomenal'

Ellie Scotney is on the edge of greatness, says boxing legend Barry McGuigan.

Scotney takes on Mexico's Mayelli Flores for all four major super-bantamweight world titles at London's Olympia on Sunday April 5, live on Your Site.

Victory would see Catford's Scotney become Britain's youngest undisputed world champion in the four-belt era.

Already the unified WBC, WBO and IBF titlist, Scotney needs Flores' WBA belt to complete her collection.

Barry McGuigan knows first-hand how capable Scotney is - she's trained by his son Shane.

"People forget what Ellie Scotney has achieved. She's won three titles," McGuigan told Your Site News. "She's really achieved a great deal and she's only in the embryonic stages of her professional career.

"She's a fighter, she's got incredible toughness. She can take a shot. She can dish it out. She's got non-stop aggression and a beautiful boxing brain as well.

"People are overlooking how good she is and what she's achieved and that shouldn't be the case. She's really something special and I have a great deal of respect for her."

McGuigan is expecting the WBA champion to push her. "Flores is strong and tough. Comes forward," he said. "Walk you down, have a fight.

"It won't be an easy fight." But he added: "I think she'll beat Flores."

Scotney has hoovered up titles in her pro career, winning the European championship before stepping up to world level. She's always beaten reigning champions, never picking up a vacant belt, and doing it all in just 11 fights.

She has though won on points every single time, a stoppage or knockout so far proving elusive.

"She throws meticulous combinations," McGuigan said. "It's very hard to articulate what punching power is. It's about sitting down on your shots, hitting right through the target.

"She's got amazing courage, it's just the way she fights. She doesn't try to knock people out, she just beats them up with combinations and she does that. Look what she's done so far. She's a brilliant talent.

"What she's done is really phenomenal."

April 5 will be a busy night for the McGuigan stable with Caroline Dubois, the WBC lightweight champion, also in action in the co-main event in her own world title unification.

Dubois boxes the vastly more experienced Terri Harper, who holds the WBO title at lightweight after prior championship reigns at both super-feather and super-welterweight.

"No matter what they say to each other in those interviews, I know that Caroline will have the utmost respect for Terri Harper because Terri Harper has earned her coins, she's earned her reputation," McGuigan said.

"She's a very good fighter. She's a good all rounder. She can box, she can fight, she's a nice kid and I have a lot of respect for her.

"It's going to be a hard night's work and she knows that and she's been getting ready and she's in great shape. I think Caroline will win, she's got the power. But this won't be an easy fight. This is a tough kid. Terri Harper will be a tough night's work."

Watch Dubois-Harper and Scotney-Flores live on Your Site on Sunday April 5.

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