World title hopeful Savannah Marshall has been handed the first home appearance of her professional career.
The unbeaten Hartlepool middleweight will fight at Dunston, on Friday, March 29.
Marshall has begun pro life in perfect style with wins in Las Vegas, Bolton, London, Sofia and Manchester and now she has the chance to dazzle in front of a North-East audience on the Black Flash Promotions/ Mark Clauzel event at the Lancastrian Suite.
It is brilliant news for Marshall and her supporters with the 27-year-old destined for the very top.
She took the first steps towards world glory in Bulgaria where she lifted the WBA Inter-continental super-middleweight title, outclassing hard-as-nails Argentinian Yanina Orozco over 10 rounds, only the second occasion she has been forced to go the distance.
Two weeks later she extended her record to 5-0 by thumping Klaudia Vigh to defeat inside just three minutes at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.
She felled the Hungarian twice and when more punishment rained in, referee Andy Brook stepped in at one minute, five seconds of the second round.
Marshall, trained by Peter Fury, dad of British heavyweight champ Hughie, looks every inch a contender to add a professional world title to her amateur triumph.
The Headland ABC star became the UK’s first female world champ and only the second British boxer ever to win the World Amateur championship with an amazing success in China in 2012 (Frankie Gavin being the first to take a global gold for GB in 2007).
Marshall, pictured above with stablemate Hughie Fury following their most recent training session, is part of a packed programme around the corner from the Metro Centre.
Unbeaten Frank Warren fighters Troy Williamson and Jeff Saunders are in action along with the Phil Jeffries-managed Darren Surtees, who tunes up for a British title eliminator with Kieran Gethin on May 3.
MTK’s unbeaten trio, Chad Ellis, Jay Hughes and Darren Reay also tape up their gloves ahead of that MTK show on May 3, while Basi Razak is in action and Gary Dodds makes his pro debut.
Words: Roy Kelly
