By Mark Eisner: IBF,/WBA/WBC World female middleweight champion Claressa Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) put on a masterclass performance, defeating the much slower previously unbeaten WBO belt holder Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision on Saturday night in their undisputed clash at the O2 Arena in London.
The scores were 96-94, 97-93, and 97-93. Boxing News 24 scored it for Shields 96-94.
Shields, 27, built up a big lead in the first half of the contest and then held on in the second half of the contest when the powerful Marshall came storming back.
In the championship rounds, Shields looked tired from the fast pace that Savannah had set, and she was getting hit with big shots that she hadn’t been in the early action.
Still, Savannah had too much ground to make up, and she couldn’t pull out the victory despite her late surge.
Shield’s hand speed and combination punching were key for her getting the victory. Although Marshall had the advantage in power, she couldn’t match the speedy combinations from Shields.
Undercard results:
- IBO & WBC female super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs) edged previously unbeaten IBF & WBO champ Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs) by a 10 round split decision. The scores were 96-95, 96-95 for Baumgardner, and 97-93 for Mayer. Boxing News 24 scored it 96-95 for Baumgardner. Mayer, 32, landed a lot of jabs and was busier at times, but Baumgardner connected with the bigger shots to get the win. In the first quarter of the fight, Baumgardner controlled the action with her jab and powerful combinations. In the fourth and the fifth, Mayer came back and looked good. However, in the championship rounds, Baumgardner took over the fight and cruised to victory. Where she made it close is backing off in the 10th, allowing Mayer to get the better of the action with her aggressiveness. All in all, the fight was a disappointment, as there wasn’t enough action to live up to the hype surrounding it. One gets the sense that Baumgardner gave Mayer too much respect and could have dominated if she’d let her hands go more as she’d done in past fights.
- Women’s lightweight prospect Caroline Dubois (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Milena Koleva (10-15-1, 4 KOs) in the fifth round. In the fourth, Dubois dropped the journey women Kolevea. The time of the stoppage was at 1:53.
Preview:
“It was five weeks. I think anybody that didn’t take advantage of the extra time doesn’t know about being a great fighter,” said Claressa Shields to Secondsout ahead of tonight’s fight against Savannah Marshall in London.
“I don’t have an opinion. I still think she’s stupid, and I still think she’s disrespectful, but we are fighters, and she’s a champion, and I’m a champion. I respect her skills, and I respect her as a fighter. But if somebody throws stones at me, I throw stones back.
“If you go low, I go lower. It’s all a mental game, and I’ve had the edge so far. No thinking to it,” when asked if Shields thinks her mental game is superior to Savannah’s.
“I’m going to knock Savannah out. That’s my prediction. I don’t know what round and when, but I tell you, I’m going to break her in there. I’m going to break her mentally, and then I’m going to break her physically.
“It was good to add more and build more [having more time to prepare] because I was already there. I just had to make sure I didn’t overtrain and get too upset with the postponement.
“I’m expecting a very neutral crowd because I’ve got a big fanbase here in the UK,” Shields continued. “The fans that are cheering for me, thank you.
“If you’re booing, you don’t understand how great this fight is and how I’ve put on the line to be here. I’m not worried about the crowd or anybody. I probably won’t even hear them. I’m not worried about the crowd because I’m going to take them out of the fight early anyway.
“I know my fanbase will be bigger after I leave here. I’m not the fighter I was in 2012 or even in 2016. I’m a completely different fighter or every year. Every fight, I add something new or take away a different habit.
“I’m a complete fighter, and I have a lot of things in the toolbox that I use. If I have to use all of them to win, I will. 10-years ago, this didn’t even exist or even five years ago. We’ve been able to show that women’s boxing is at a very high level.
“I think women’s boxing goes to superstars. I think we’re going to have our superstars, mini-superstars, our regulars, but they’re going to be able to build themselves up. I think women’s boxing is getting super close to equality.
“We get paid like the men and fight on big cards like the men. We headline where men are on the undercard,” said Shields.
Claressa Shields battle Savannah Marshall in the headliner tonight, while Mikaela Mayer fights Aylcia Baumgardner in the co-feature bout. The action begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
The unbeaten IBF, WBA & WBC World female middleweight champion Shields (12-0, 2 KOs) and WBO champ Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) meet for the undisputed championship.