I’m a ring girl just like my mom – I’m living my dream and I’m set for the biggest night of my career in the Anthony Joshua fight

CHLOE ELMAN-BAKER is following in her mother’s footsteps as she prepares to give the girl the call for the biggest fight of her career.

Khloe, 23, will help host the show Anthony Joshua returns to the ring on Saturday to fight Jermaine Franklin at the O2 in London.

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Chloe will enter the ring along with ringmate and close friend Alyssa King-Underwood.

But she is not the first in her family to master the profession of ring girl.

Khloe’s mum Julie, 57, also worked at Matchroom and was a ring girl Chris Eubank Sr1992 year WBO super middleweight title win against Ron Essett as well as his fight against Nigel Benn in 1993.

Julie has also won a total of 13 beauty pageants and has also completed modeling courses at the Vogue modeling agency.

She was crowned Miss Worthing and Miss Eastbourne within four days of each other in 1984 and Miss Brighton in 1986, as well as many other titles.

Chloe told SunSport: “My mum was one of the main girls in the Matchroom ring when she was 24, working for Barry Hearn and now it’s a bit crazy that I’m working for Barry’s son (Eddie Hearn).

“I have a photo of her carrying the flag to the village [Chris] Eubank’s fight.

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“I remember the first time I called my mum when I first got the job at Matchroom and I was wondering if I should take it and she said, ‘Oh my God, Chloe, it’s Matchroom.’

“I actually saw Barry at an event last week and I FaceTimed my mom while I was with him and I said, ‘Mom, do you want to say hi.’

“When I first met Barry, he came up to me to say hello and said, ‘say hello to your mum’, so I called her and said Barry Hearn was saying hello.

“He recognized me straight away without asking my name, so I must look like my mum.”

Like Julie, Khloe has also won beauty pageants, taking the titles of Miss Teen Diamond United Kingdom in 2019 and Teen Miss Regency International in 2020 in Las Vegas.

In 2022, the girl from Brighton also became the winner of Top Model of England and Queen of Europe in Egypt.

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Now managed by SBJ Management, Khloe insisted that while she didn’t get “any references” from her mother, Julie’s career did inspire her to go into business.

She added: “You know what, she has a big collage of all the big events she’s been to too, celebrities she had been dating for years and it had been for a very long time.

“I’ll always ask her questions about it, and she’s like, ‘Wow, Khloe, I decided to go into the promotion world and that’s how I got all these great jobs and events,’ so that was a conversation starter for us.”

“I thought, as long as I’m at this age and can do all these really cool glamorous jobs, I want to do what my mom did.

“So I didn’t get any referrals from her regarding Matchroom, it was pure coincidence and it’s been the same on several jobs as I also work with British Touring Cars.

“Mom is very close to Jason Platt and she worked with him and I worked with him last year as well.”

BIGGEST NIGHT OF MY CAREER

Chloe insisted on it AJThe fight against Franklin is the biggest of her career as a girl in the ring, and it was also jokingly suggested that she won the fight for her mom.

She said: “It’s definitely the biggest, it even beats the ones my mum used to do when she was on Matchroom.

“So I said, ‘I’m going to make one for you, mom.’

“It’s like the moment I get pinched.

“The biggest one I’ve ever had was Joe Cordino fight in Wales, it was my first job in the ring and I didn’t know what to expect.

“But my now best friend Alessi (also the girl in the ring in the fight with AJ) was helping and teaching me the ways.

“It was an incredible fight and an amazing knockout from Joe Cordina, the atmosphere was intense, I was so excited that I didn’t sleep at all that night.

“I texted my mum asking if I should just drive home from Wales as I wasn’t going to sleep.”

PROUD MOM

Julie couldn’t be prouder of her daughter as she said: “I’m incredibly proud to see Chloe in the ring at the AJ fight on Saturday.

“I remember those days so clearly, from the weigh-ins to the electric atmosphere of the nights. I had a great time working with Barry Hearn and now Khloe is working with his son Eddie.

“Modeling and beauty pageants make for a fun, diverse life that includes traveling and meeting such interesting people from all walks of life.

“But it doesn’t last forever, so I’m also very proud that she has a degree in architecture and interior design to fall back on.”

Chloe graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a first class degree and spent some time working for the company as well as working as a ring girl and grid girl for British Touring Cars.

As for the fight itself, Chloe is rooting for AJ to get back to winning ways while also showing what the 33-year-old is like outside of the ring.

She said: “I don’t think I have to say it, but let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Anthony Joshua, I know he’s an absolute beast in the ring.

“He’s such a gentleman outside of the ring. I met him a few fights ago the last time I was in the ring and he’s such a down to earth guy and I had a real chat with him.

“He always has time for you, and that’s wonderful.

“I’m really excited, I think he’s going to smash it on fight night and I can’t wait to see him in action as it’s my first AJ fight.”

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