By: Sean Crose
If there were any notable reason to delay a major war, it would probably be the passing of a widely beloved nearly hundred-year-old king. To no one’s surprise, tomorrow’s Claressa Shields – Savannah Marshall match for the undisputed middleweight world championship has been postponed. The Queen passed away yesterday at the age of 96 in Scotland. She is England’s longest-reigning monarch, having occupied the throne for 70 years. Promo outlet Boxxer, the force behind Saturday’s scheduled match, released an official statement about the postponement on Friday.
“As a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the British Boxing Supervisory Board has made the decision to postpone Saturday’s BOXERR LEGACY: Shields vs Marshall event,” the statement read. “Our heartfelt thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III (the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth and the new monarch of England) and the Royal Family during this deeply murky time. We are working with all parties to temporarily schedule Saturday, October 15 at The O2 in London. More updates on the new date will be made as soon as possible. “
For his part, Shields took the news respectfully. “Yes,” she tweeted Friday morning. “I understand.” Shields has previously stated that she will respect any decision made regarding the fight that was scheduled for Saturday. “For the country,” she wrote on Twitter, “I understand that the Queen of the country passed away in mourning for the whole country. Government is speaking & those in higher power. Whatever decision I make respect it”.
Shields-Marshall is a highly anticipated matchup not only because it will be a battle between two undefeated fighters for the middleweight title, but also because Marshall is the only fighter to ever defeat Shields in the ring. With that said, the first matchup was an amateur event that took place about a decade ago. Since that time, Shields has risen to the forefront of women’s boxing, and she has even tried her hand at mixed martial arts. Marshall, however, has an impressive 12-0 record, identical to Shields. Unlike Shields, Marshall is also a knockout artist, having finished all but two of her matches in the gap.
Currently, Marshall holds the WBO middleweight belt while Shields continues to hold the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight belts. Surely both fighters will be eager to share the ring with each other as quickly as possible.
