It’s on. Savannah Marshall WILL get to make the maiden defence of her WBO world middleweight title.
The unbeaten Hartlepool fighter takes on Maria Lindberg at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday, April 10 after the respected Swedish veteran stepped in as a late substitute for Femke Hermans.
It is great news for Marshall who looked like missing the show entirely following the collapse of her match with European champion Hermans after a member of the Belgian’s camp tested positive for coronavirus.
Not only have promoters Matchroom worked quickly to bring in a replacement, the bout will have the World Boxing Organization’s eye-catching pink belt riding on it.
So who is Maria Lindberg? No spring chicken but also no dummy.
Once you have got past the Swede’s date of birth, the Malmo fighter is 44, you have to view her for what she is … a real danger.
That she can step in at just a few days notice shows she must be an extremely fit, focused professional.
Her record is not a bad one, with 19 wins and two draws, 10 of the victories coming early, with only six defeats. She has never been stopped.
Lindberg has taken part in a number of world title contests for a variety of belts that exist on the planet.
She was good enough to have challenged Ema Kozin, the Slovenian who has been linked to a fight with Marshall, in her opponent’s backyard, losing by only a couple of points in Ljubljana in October 2019.
Since that loss she won an international 10-rounder in Germany and is now in London ready to fight for one of the major world belts.
With nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain, that makes the Swede a threat as Marshall acknowledges.
“She’s been in the game a long time and been in with some of the best, it’s going to be a tough, tough fight,” the Peter Fury-trained boxer told Seconds Out
“The fact she’s taken it at this notice shows how fit she is and she’s probably never going to get another chance at a world title, is she?
“She’s going to be doing everything possible to win it.”
Click here to see the full interview on Seconds Out.
Marshall v Lindberg features on a show which has another world title fight with Watford’s Shannon Courtenay facing Australia’s Ebanie Bridges for the vacant WBA bantamweight title, while at the top of the bill welterweight star Conor Benn defends his WBA Continental belt against Samuel Vargas.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Mark Robinson/ Matchroom
