Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall 2 has moved another step closer after the unbeaten American unified the middleweight division overnight.
Shields convincingly outpointed Gemany’s Christina Hammer in Atlantic City in the eagerly-anticipated biggest female bout ever in professional boxing.
After adding Hammer’s WBO middleweight title to the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, Shields called out both Marshall and women’s legend, Norway’s Cecilia Brækhus, vowing to “kill” the Hartlepool boxer.
Some of the language used by Shields was particularly distasteful – football managers often talk about how they “murdered” the opposition but boxers should avoid using the word “kill” in conversation given the tragic deaths, brain damage and serious injuries which have occurred in the sport.
“I’ll go to the UK and beat Savannah Marshall,” Shields boasted.
“Bring me her. Bring it to me. I’ll kill her.”
Perhaps Claressa has watched Rocky IV too many times and slipped into Ivan Drago-mode?
Taking aside her ill-advised choice of words, the 24-year-old has certainly lit the fuse paper and it would outstrip Shields-Hammer as the greatest female world title yet.
Shields, a double Olympic gold medallist, has lost only once in her life and that was to Marshall in the 2012 World Championships in China.
Marshall’s 14-8 victory in Qinhuangdao was more than fair but the American carries around a chip on her shoulder the size of her home state of Michigan.
Will a professional USA-UK showdown happen? Of course it will.
It will represent a moment of history and, without wishing to sound materialistic, there will be a few dollars in it for both girls. This is professional boxing after all.
For Marshall, ‘The Silent Assassin’ it is an opportunity to shut up her rival once and for all and, for her coach, Peter Fury, a chance to add a great world title triumph in the female game.
Peter has already engineered one of the biggest wins in the men’s game, guiding nephew Tyson Fury to victory over Wladimir Klitschko in the world heavyweight championship confrontation. He might well fancy this challenge too.
For now, the unbeaten Hartlepool fighter is at super-middleweight where she might well take a world title (or two) before deciding to tackle her brash old foe.
The 27-year-old has won all five of her paid appearances, the highlight being lifting the vacant WBA Inter-Continental belt against Argentina’s Yanina Orozco in Sofia last October.
Savannah is due out next on May 25 on the undercard of Hughie Fury’s return to action in Manchester on an event shown by Channel 5.
Back to Shields, she ‘sorted out’ Hammer with relative ease at the Adrian Phillips Theater at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
Judges Guido Cavalleri and Robin Taylor both scored it 98-91 with Lynne Carter having it a point narrower at 98-92.
The Guardian’s reporter at ringside, Bryan Armen Graham, described it as a display of “overwhelming Christina Hammer with a comprehensive exhibition of hand speed, effective aggression and much-improved defense.”
Enjoy Bryan’s full report of the fight here on the Guardian website.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Tom Collins/ Hartlepool Life
