Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall

Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall

• Date: Saturday 15th October
• Time: 7pm BST

Fight Preview

The biggest grudge match in the history of female boxing concludes this Saturday night, as bitter rivals Claressa Shields (12-0, 2KO) and Savannah Marshall (12-0, 10KO) lock horns for a second time on October 15th at the O2 Arena in London. A fight that was scheduled to take place last month but was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The former foes will headline a historic all-female fight card, live on Sky Sports, in an event that will not only settle the biggest rivalry in female boxing, but could potentially inspire the next generation of sports stars.

The 10-year-long rivalry has become increasingly more hostile as their collision course closes in.

Hartlepool’s Marshall, 31, is the only opponent to inflict a defeat on the Michigander’s record, which has been the basis of all arguments up to now.

21 at the time, Marshall defeated 17-year-old Shields during the 2012 World Championships and became only the second English amateur to be crowned world champion.

However, it was Shields who went on to become a double Olympic and World champion, reaching the pinnacle of the sport during 2012-2016; an incredible feat she has replicated in the pro ranks.

Marshall’s medal haul isn’t as impressive but still spectacular in its own right. She didn’t quite live up to expectations during the London 2012 Games, but did capture gold in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealths.

Shields kicked on after her sole defeat to never lose a single bout since, leaving behind a 64-1 amateur record, trumping Marshall’s 61-16 slate.

In the pros, Shields once again completed the set, scooping up every title, breaking numerous records, becoming unified world champion in just her fourth bout.

This weekend will serve as her 12th championship contest, entering the ring as a Triple Unified Champion and two-weight Undisputed Champion.

Marshall won a title in her fourth fight, crowned world champion in her ninth. She won the WBO middleweight bauble against Scotland’s Hannah Rankin and defended the belt three times.

What’s been most impressive is her KO count. The County Durham star’s scary power has seen her knockout her last eight opponents in a row.

During their infamous amateur bout, it was Shields who was advancing forwards, piling on the pressure, while Marshall boxed on the backfoot, moving laterally out of range with her fleeting footwork, using her longer reach and height to full advantage to win 14-8 on points.

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A decade later, both are very different fighters. Shields, now 27, is arguably the better boxer. She’s technically brilliant and easily pound for pound top one or two in the world, alongside Katie Taylor. Her main advantages are her superior handspeed and vaster experience at this level.

She wins fights convincingly via wide points decisions where she often bags every single round, but doesn’t possess great power. Bet365 have placed Shields 11/5 to win via unanimous decision but a KO is at 25-1.

Marshall is also extremely skilled, in an unconventional way. Tricky and awkward, trainer Peter Fury has passed on that winning ‘Fury’ style with complete success. The power has only been awakened in the pros and fine-tuned to become her most effective attribute. She leaves her hands down low, varies shots, sets traps, and unleashes her frightful power at the right time to devastating effect.

Marshall doesn’t always sit down on her shots to generate power, it’s her rhythm and side to side movement that creates the torque to knock her opponents down.

Shields is hard to nail cleanly, but she can be caught, as Hanna Gabriels proved in the first round of their 2018 clash. The Costa Rican landed a backhand uppercut followed by a left hook that grazed the crown of Shields, flooring her for the only time in her career. It was a legitimate knockdown, but she wasn’t hurt, so was straight back up again. She got away with it then, but Marshall wouldn’t let her off the hook so easily.

Many tip Shields to win on points and Marshall’s widely expected to score a stoppage – Paddy Power backing this method of victory at 11/4.

Shields will likely be slick and speedy, landing quick counters, whereas Marshall will almost certainly deploy her stronger power by landing those awkward shots on any part of the target, which could be arms, shoulders, body, and anything she can reach.

Despite her lowly KO count, Shields is very aggressive and likes to pile on the pressure, which Marshall will relish, guaranteeing there’ll be a firefight at times when the pair square off at each other with emotions running high, but it remains to be seen who will emerge more effective from those exchanges.

Shields is as good a boxer as you can find, but Marshall can box too; so this’ll be one of the closest, most exciting female fights of all-time.

The betting odds already tell the story – SkyBet’s 10/1 odds for a draw is remarkably low, proving just how close this contest is.

In female boxing, those two-minute rounds just fly by, so the experienced Shields could box clever during those short 20 minutes to rack up the rounds and win on points.

But with the genuine dislike between them, you just know they’ll engage in a war when it comes, which could suit Marshall more, but it’s hard to tell until that first bell tolls.

Prediction

Shields enters into her 12th championship contest with 101 rounds under her belt compared to Marshall’s 44.

The Brit has eight stoppages in a row, halting opponents – on average – every three rounds, and Shields has won eight 10-round championship fights in a row, only giving away around 5-6 rounds over the 80 boxed.

Her last two opponents, both unbeaten – 38-0 between them –  failed to score a single round against her, so I expect Shields to box behind a perfect game plan to win on points.

It’s a fight of preference. If you prefer the boxer over the puncher, you’ll pick Shields, like me. But, if you place power over skill, then you’ll side with Marshall. Personally, I think those 2-minute rounds just fly by and Shields is clever enough to get through the short 20-minutes duration without getting caught too heavily to score a unanimous decision win.