Ellie Scotney made boxing history – now Jake Paul owes her a car

Scotney mentions her family often, highlighting her mother and stressing: “My mum loves it. I think she aged about 10 years [during the Flores fight], but the joy and the backing my family give... it’s just endless. They all play a role. Some give me tough love, some are a bit softer and carry my bags, some are like: ‘You carry mine!’”

Scotney’s family were the focus of a video package that played before she outfought Flores in a punishing yet technical showdown. And perhaps the most touching moment in that video saw Scotney receive a voice message from her late nan, who passed away in 2023.

Scotney dished out immense punishment to Mayelli Flores, who kept coming forward regardless (Getty)

“It’s really weird, because when I listened to it, I felt like she was in the room with me,” Scotney reflects. “She was genuinely my best friend, and she loved boxing. I’d go down [to see her] every weekend before I boxed, I still do now; my uncle lives in the house.

“I go into her room and talk to her like she’s there. It’s just a routine, and in her ways, I feel like she shows me she is [still there]. We talk about fighters in the family, who’s the natural one, and I always say my nan. We were blessed that she lived 99 years. She was so witty, so sharp, but she just had that warmth to her that would carry any room she was in. You’d feel safe.

“Any time I’d go down [to see her], she’d say: ‘You’re gonna win, you know? I’ll say a prayer for you.’ Thank God she was here to witness me win my first world title, and we made a little promise; she was like: ‘You complete the collection.’ I just pray that she was watching from up there, because we got there in the end.”

In this particular answer, Scotney’s faith arises as a topic once more. “It’s my firm foundation,” she explains.

“In my eyes, Jesus is at the centre of it all. I wasn’t born in a religious household, but when I was 19, I started to go to church. My mum got baptised in February. It’s been a journey. I’ve seen God really work through the people around me. Fight week, I really saw it. Around me, people who never believed in God, believed in God. Even fighting on the Day of Resurrection: I wasn’t meant to, [my fight had] got delayed.”

Scotney after the final bell of her 10-round shootout with Flores (Reuters)

Throughout the night on which she beat Flores at London’s Olympia, Scotney’s faith remained a focal point.

“It was really hard, because one of my best friends opened the card and got stopped,” Scotney says of Emma Dolan. “My pastor was up to pray with me, and I went to say: ‘How’s Emma getting on?’ And Shane [McGuigan, coach] just beelined for me, like, ‘Ellie, Ellie.’ I was a bit confused, and he said: ‘Look, the towel’s come in.’

“To witness one of your best friends not fulfil their dream, it’s hard; it shows you the reality of boxing. You want to be there for your friend, but there’s so many elements to it.”

In light of the damage and disappointment in Dolan’s fight, and in comparison to bigger topics like faith, it feels odd to ask about Jake Paul’s offer to buy Scotney a car if she won – yet it was one of the main talking points on fight week.

Paul, a co-promoter of the fight card, has made no purchase yet, only because Scotney still needs a driving licence. “I’m terrible on the bumper cars!” she says, somewhat ominously. Let’s hope her driving skills grow to match her boxing skills.