Boxing Results: Savannah Marshall destroys Femke Hermans; Florian Marku stops Chris Jenkins

By Boxing News - 04/02/2022 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: In a devastating display of punching power, WBO female middleweight champion Savannah Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) obliterated her overmatched opponent Femke Hermans (12-4, 5 KOs) by a third-round knockout on Saturday night in front of a stunned crowd at the Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England.

(Photo credit: Lawrence Lustig / BOXXER)

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It was a one-sided fight with the 30-year-old Marshall inflicting a terrible beating on the 32-year-old Belgium Femke in rounds one and two. Really, there was little competitiveness in either of the first two rounds because of that massive difference in punching power.

In the third round, Marshall nailed Femke with a HUGE left to the head that put her down for the count. The referee Howard Foster halted the contest at 2:59 of round three.

With the victory, Marshall is expected to take on American Claressa Shields next. She 27-year-old Flint, Michigan native Shields holds the IBF, WBA & WBC WBA, WBC.

That’s going to be a difficult fight for the highly skilled Shields to win because he’s going to need to avoid getting hit at all in that fight. With Marshall’s one-punch power, she can end the fight at any time.

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Undefeated #12 WBA welterweight fringe contender Florian Marku (11-0-1, 7 KOs) stopped Chris Jeninks (23-5-3, 8 KOs) by a fourth-round knockout.

Marku was outboxed through the first three rounds by Jenkins, but in the fourth round, he hurt him with a big right hand. The shot caused Jenkins to bend forward.

Marku then threw repeated chopping shots to the head of Jenkins, missing most but connecting with a couple that sent him reeling.

Jenkins backed up against the ropes and was hammered by Marku with massive right hands.

The referee Steve Gray stepped in and halted the fight when he saw that Jenkins was completely out of it and defenseless. The time of the stoppage was at 1:41.

After the fight, the 29-year-old Albanian Marku called out Amir Khan. That’s a fight that he and his promoters want. I’m not sure that Khan has any interest in that fight.

He wants a rematch with Kell Brook, not a fight against Marku. That would be a low-level affair if it took place.

“I’m really happy with my performance, but trust me, I haven’t shown nothing yet,” said Marku after the fight to Boxing King Media in reflecting on his victory over Jenkins.

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“I know myself and that’s why I believe in myself because I know what I can do. I’m still learning. If I do the things that I can do, you’ll all be surprised, but I’m still learning.

“You see some of the things that I changed in my game plan. In kick boxing, I like to put up my hands and block shots, but this is not boxing. This is about being a boxer and boxing more.

“I think I showed some new things in the game that I have worked with Grant. Nobody did that with Chris that I did in four rounds that I did to him. I think that Chris fought some really good names, and he had the British title. Nobody stopped him in four rounds the way I stopped him.

“I give my heart. I don’t care if I go down unconscious and they take me out of the ring in a barrel. I prefer to go out of the ring like this than to lose. Boxing is my life. I don’t do this because somebody pushed me to do. I love that.

“When I saw blood in my eyes, I thought, ‘The referee may stop the fight.’ That’s why I kept pushing the pace. Jenkins when he was blocking, he was always with his hands down and this [the top of his head], it was open,” said Marku.

“100 percent, this will be big,” said Marku when asked if he wants to fight in Albania next. “We’ll be in a football stadium, filled with Albanians, 35,000 people and this will be huge.

“Who doesn’t like that?” said Marku when asked if he wants to fight Amir Khan next. “But I’m a problem for Amir Khan, and I don’t think he’s so stupid to accept a fight with me. I would destroy him.

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“I would send him home to sleep, I would finish his career,” said Marku about what would be in store for Khan if he accepted a fight against him.

Super middleweight Zak Chelli (11-1-1, 6 KOs) defeated replacement opponent Jack Gilgannon (11-1, 3 KOs) by a sixth-round knockout.

Undefeated middleweight prospect Brad Rea (13-0, 5 KOs) beat Lukasz Ndafoluma (20-5, 10 KOs) by an eight-round points decision. The score was 78-73.