By: Sean Crose
She might be the greatest of all female warriors. She has won gold medals, world titles and awards. However, Claressa Shields has yet to beat the best Savannah Marshall, even though they have fought in the ring once before, in 2012. Marshall won that amateur bout, but Shields rose to the top. comets in the professional boxing ranks. Now, the two women will meet again, a full decade after their first and only battle, at the O2 Arena in London. It’s not that Shields seems bothered by that. In fact, she actually mimicked Marshall during a press conference promoting the game Thursday. “I don’t hate Savannah Marshall,” Shields said, “but I worked harder, and the results show that.”
While 12-0 Shields is definitely the bigger name of the two, Marshall – also 12-0 – holds the WBO middleweight belt. The fact that Shields currently holds the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight belts means that the winner of Saturday’s bout will be the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. They can be considered equal, but there is a big difference between Shields and Marshall. Yes, they come from different countries and are of different races, but what really distinguishes these women is their respective fighting styles.
As for Shields, is a set of walking and talking skills. She simply surpasses and points out the opponent with impressive constancy. On the other hand, Marshall is a knockout artist. In fact, the last time a Marshall match went the distance was in 2018. As for the record, that was eight games ago. Marhsall has only covered the distance twice. Shields only stopped an early skirmish twice. Once again, the stylistic difference between the two unbeaten titles is clear. It should also be noted that Marhsall is almost 4 inches taller than Shields, while Shields is four years younger than Marshall.
In short, there was a lot of intrigue leading up to Saturday’s game. For the winner can truly prove to be the top female boxer on the planet. Considering the fact that women’s boxing is making real strides, finally gaining the respect and eyeballs it deserves, there’s a lot to be concerned about here. With the dazzling Katy Taylor-Amanda Serrano fight taking place last April in New York, it will be interesting to see how Shields-Marshall plays out this weekend in London. The fact that Shields and Marshall don’t seem to like each other only adds to the drama.
