Claressa Shields beware. Savannah Marshall will not only take some beating, the WBO world champion is getting better each fight.
Hartlepool’s boxing star thrilled a packed Utilita Arena and Sky Sports audience with a second-round stoppage of Lolita Muzeya on Saturday night.
Also watching on from her home in America was the self-appointed greatest woman of all time, the highly-gifted Shields, who is unbeaten as a pro and only lost once as an amateur … to Marshall.
“See you next year girlie,” said Shields. “I’ll show you what a real champion fights like.”
But Savannah declared after her 238-second title defence: “Marshall said: “Claressa couldn’t last two minutes with me never mind two rounds.”
The rivals will see each other before 2022.
BOXXER, the promoters who staged Saturday’s event, plan for both Savannah and Claressa to appear on a show in Birmingham on December 11 with separate title defences.
Assuming neither champion slips up, a spring unification fight would happen here in the UK.
BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom said: “Savannah was unbelievable. We feel we have the best fighter in the whole of the sport. Claressa feels that she is the best.
“We have them both on the same platform.
“It’s going to happen and very soon.
“They’ll have fights on the same card on December 11 and then it will be the big one.”
Marshall was brilliant on Saturday night against her gutsy challenger.
As predicted by Savannah on punch-lines, Lolita came flying at her from the first sounding of James Holborn’s bell.
The 30-yea-old Zambian threw everything at the ‘Silent Assassin’ in the opening two minutes, only her kitchen sink was missing from the barrage.
However, Marshall is a Hartlepool girl and hard with it, so she can take a shot and came back with a few of her own, notably a right upper cut or three.
Muzeya, who went into the contest unbeaten on 16 straight wins, started the second session with equal gusto, but the class and power of the former Headland ABC boxer began to take its toll.
Those trademark upper cuts found their mark, as did some crunching lefts to the body, and when some big shots went in upstairs, Lolita’s head was left exposed.
While the 10-second warning had gone for the end of the round, the challenger had nothing left and referee Michael Alexander did the right thing by stepping in at one-minute, 58 seconds.
It was Marshall’s 11th straight win, with nine inside the distance, including the last seven on the spin.
She is looking unbeatable.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Jennifer Charlton
