Claressa Shields became the undisputed female middleweight champion of the world on Saturday night as she avenged the ‘only blemish’ of her career by defeating Savannah Marshall on points after 10 rounds of brilliant boxing from both fighters. Two judges scored the contest 97-93 and one 96-94 all in favour of the American, unifying the division and taking home the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, WBF and The Ring titles.
20,000 ecstatic spectators at the 02 arena were given full value for their tickets as both women put their all into the contest.
Attack vs Attack
Both fighters went toe to toe from the first bell as the English-born Marshall started the stronger in front of her roaring home crowd. Shields did not let the noise from outside of the ring affect her as she grew in confidence during the second and third rounds, replying to Marshall’s early dominance and forward approach with fierce body shots and world class combinations to put her opponent on the back foot.
Shields expert evasive skills displayed through her slick footwork and head movement made it hard for Marshall to land clean punches or gain the upper hand as the fight progressed. The fourth round saw Shields go up another gear as she landed 24 punches compared to Marshalls eight. With the American throwing devastating combinations to the head and the body of Marshall, she at times struggled to defend the pressure from Shields but did stand her ground.
All or nothing
As the fight went through the middle rounds Marshall decided to step up the pace herself forcing Shields in the corner on many occasions, landing good jabs without really overpowering her opponent.
Marshall’s trainer, Peter Fury’s words before the penultimate ninth round were “Give it everything you’ve got”. The ‘Silent Assassin’ did just that and was the more aggressive and engaging fighter as she looked to close the points gap or gain a knockout. looking for the knockout. In the final round both women gave it their all and finished the contest with their arms aloft as self-proclamation as the winner.
Huge night for women’s boxing
Both women were given a standing ovation from the crowd as the final bell rang which concluded a ground breaking night for women’s boxing.
The new Undisputed Champion Shields gave a passionate speech after the fight when speaking to Sky Sports stating, “It’s not just special for me, it’s special for women’s boxing!
“Women’s boxing has been around for so many years, so many greats have come before us. Here we are in London in front of 20,000 fans in the 02 arena and I think that was the fight of the year”
Scorecards
Peter Fury was disappointed at the scoring after the fight, as he told IFL TV “There’s no problem in coming up short in a fight like this. And what I will say is the score 7-3, I thought was ridiculous. You know, I thought the fight could’ve gone either way. Claressa’s got it. I’ll have to watch it back.”
Marshall agreed with Fury when talking to IFL TV she said, “I did think she won but I thought it was closer than that”.
After the fight the British boxer was humble in defeat and told the world via Sky Sports, “Clarissa is a great fighter and has definitely earned the title of the greatest women of all time”.
Link to highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plAk0CyVIqI
Link to full fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_93o7n37y4&t=542s
Edited by M Gowie
