Ebanie Bridges upset by Alexis Arazia Mones in comeback fight
Ebanie Bridges upset by Alexis Arazia Mones in Puerto Rico
After two years away from the ring for Australian superstar Ebanie Bridges (9-3, 4 KOs), her comeback opponent Alexis Araiza Mones (4-2-1, 1 KO) proved to be a bridge too far.
Mones, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, secured the biggest victory of her pro career so far at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente on Saturday, January 3, 2026, by dominating the former IBF world bantamweight champion Bridges in an upset unanimous decision.
The fight, which Mones won by scores of 80-72 on one card and 78-74 on the other two, opened the main portion of the Amanda Serrano-Reina Tellez card on DAZN.
“I did really good in the amateurs and I’ve had a pretty rough start in the pros,” said Mones after her fourth win from seven bouts.
“I finally got the win on the best platform that I could have gotten it. It means everything to get the opportunity and then to shine. It feels amazing.”
The 35-year-old Texan used her superior boxing skills to keep the relentlessly aggressive Bridges off balance. After a bright start, Mones began to put power punches together in the third round, rocking Ebanie with an overhand right that stopped her in her tracks.
Bridges was fighting for the first time since December 2023 and after becoming a mother for the first time last March. Her and partner Kell Brook, a former IBF world champion himself, have a son together and have set up home in Sheffield.
Brave and tough, the 39-year-old from New South Wales, Australia, brushed off the power shots in the fourth, pressing forward but having to walk through bruising combinations to do so.
With the outcome already sealed, Mones did not step off the gas during the eighth and final round, meeting Bridges to trading punches in the centre of the squared circle, much to the delight of the spectators.
Mones, a mother of two herself, said the win was even sweeter because it came at bantamweight, a division up from her usual fights at super-fly. She hopes that the victory will give her career the momentum needed to get a world title opportunity.
It was Ebanie's first fight for Most Valuable Promotions, and she can be forgiven for the shock defeat after not being in the ring since losing her world title by unanimous decision to Miyo Yoshida in December 2023.
There may be a tough decision for Ebanie to make on her boxing career after such an upset, now with just four wins in the last five years. However, many fight fans were quick to praise the tough Aussie for her tenacity and willingness to get back in the ring so soon after giving birth.
