By Matt Lieberman: Savannah Marshall (13-1, 10 KO) got back to her winning ways, defeating IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO female super middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-2, 2 KOs) by a 10-round majority decision at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Both fighters looked exhausted in the championship rounds, but the 32-year-old Marshall showed her superior power, landing many clean shots to the head of the out-of-shape-looking Crews-Dezurn, who looked like she was carrying around an extra 15 lbs of weight on her normally trim frame.
The scores were 95-95, 99-92, and 97-92. Boxing News 24 had it for Marshall 99-92. It was difficult to give Crews-Dezurn more than a couple of rounds because she was mauling a lot and not looking her best.
Marshall had been coming off of a loss to Claressa Shields in her previous fight, and she looked a lot better tonight, albeit against the slow, lethargic, poorly conditioned Franchion.
“She (Crews-Dezurn) is a tough, tough woman. I thought she came on stronger, some of the rounds were close, but I felt landed the better shots,” said Marshall.
“I will fight her at whatever weight she wants to fight at,” Claressa Shields said about a rematch with Marshall. “She is going to get beat up… that’s what is going to happen.
“[I saw] a lot of weaknesses, and she didn’t learn from her last fight. I agreed with the first judge, who had it 95-95. The fight was close – I expected a better performance from both girls.”
Shields should have already given Marshall a rematch because their fight last October was far more competitive than Clarressa’s recent mismatch against Maricela Cornejo last month. That fight was virtually unwatchable due to the one-sided nature of it.
Some boxing fans believe Shields, 28, didn’t fancy another go-round with Marshall due to the punishment she absorbed in it. Although Shields won a clear 10-round decision, Marshall got her pound of flesh in the process. She was no easy out for Claressa.
In other action on the card, Natasha Jonas (14-2-1, 9 KOs) came down from junior middleweight to stop Kandi Wyatt (11-5, 3 KOs) in the eighth round. The time of the stoppage was at 0:33 of round eight.
Other results:
Light heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped journeyman Vladimir Belujsky (13-7-1, 9 KOs) in the 8th round. Referee Mark Lyson halted the contest at 1:49.
Unbeaten super middleweight Mark Jeffers (16-0, 4 KOs) defeated Zak Chelli (13-2-1, 6 KOs) by a10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 97-94, 97-94, and 97-93.
Callum Simpson (12-0, 9 KO) kept his unbeaten record intact with a ten round unanimous decision victory over Boris Crighton (11-4, 7 KOs) in super middleweight action. The scores were 97-93, 99-92, and 99-91.
