Claressa Shields beats Savannah Marshall in historic fight to unify world titles




CNN

Claressa Shields became the undisputed world middleweight champion, beating bitter rival Savannah Marshall by unanimous decision at London’s O2 Arena.

All three judges ruled in favor of the American, with scorecards of 96-94, 97-93, 97-93, as Shields’ relentless pace overcame Marshall’s longer reach and more powerful punches .

By defeating Marshall, Shields avenged the only loss she had ever suffered in her professional and amateur career and confirmed the title she wears on her collar – the GWOAT, the greatest woman of all time.

It was a historic night for women’s boxing, marking the first-ever all-female card in the UK, as well as the first time two female boxers headlined at a major UK venue.

“I want to thank Savannah Marshall and all of her team and the UK fans for being here as it’s a special time for women’s boxing,” Shields told Sky Sports.

“Here we are in front of 20,000 fans at the O2 Arena. It’s an incredible moment. It was a special night for women’s boxing and I think it was the fight of the year.

“I know I did the most work today and I was winning with these suits. I did what I do in training and I got the job done.

“I worked hard for a very long time and no one gave me credit.”

Marshall and Shields entered the fight with a 12-0 record, the former as the WBO titlist and the latter as the unified WBC, WBA and IBF 160lbs champion.

And the quality of both fighters was evident early on, with flurries of punches answered in kind over each of the ten two-minute rounds.

Shields even later revealed that she couldn’t see out of her right eye after round six, as Marshall’s punches were so hard.

“Claressa is a brilliant fighter – not as fast as I thought! She has definitely earned the title of greatest woman of all time,” Marshall said afterwards according to Sky Sports.

“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, I really appreciate it.

“It’s amazing that two women sold the O2. It’s amazing and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.

Before Shields and Marshall entered the ring, Alycia Baumgardner became the unified super featherweight champion with a narrow victory over Mikaela Mayer.

malek

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GreenLeaf Tw2sl