Savannah Marshall is “ready for anything” when she puts her WBO world middleweight belt on the line for the third time.
The 30-year-old gets her hardest test yet in Newcastle on Saturday night when she must see off European champion Femke Hermans.
Having taken less than 10 minutes to see off her two previous challengers, veteran Swede Maria Lindberg (ironically a late sub for Hermans this time last year in London) and unbeaten African, Lolita Muzyea, this looks like presenting a longer shift.
It could even go to the judges scorecards given Hermans has never been stopped – the 32-year-old has only ever lost at the highest level.
How will Hermans go about it?
It’s likely to be in stark contrast to the way Muzeya operated in the same Utilita Arena ring last October.
She came out fighting, rather like some of the bouts Lewis Ritson had during his breathless reign as British lightweight champion as his challengers adopted ‘I’d better get him before he gets me approach’.
Surely Hermans, a boxer with a bit of power of her own, won’t try it on?
“You never know,” smiled a relaxed Marshall when she sat down with punch-lines at Thursday’s media conference at St James’s Park.
“After the performance Lolita put in I’m not going to take anything for granted.
“I’m ready for anything.
“I remember the night before the Lolita fight I thought ‘is she going to try to outbox me?’ but then I said to myself ‘she can’t’.
“I thought she’d come and have a go, but didn’t expect her to come like that and start a war from the first bell.
“But the way she went about it in that first round aided my KO in the second.
“She and her people probably clocked that I am a bit of a slow starter, and then went to war and it cost her in the second.”
With all the talk of a mega fight with Claressa Shields this summer, surely it must be hard for Marshall to concentrate on the job in hand.
Far from it she insists, explaining that she has total respect and focus on Femke.
“All this has been going on for four or five years, so every fight I have, every interview I do Claressa gets mentioned,” said the unbeaten Hartlepool girl.
“It’s standard now. My mind is totally on this fight.
“Femke’s a very awkward, tough competitor, a former world champion and a reigning European champion.
“But I’m confident about getting another win under my belt and excited to be boxing in Newcastle again.”
Hermans brings at 12-3 record to Tyneside, with five stoppages on her fight log, while Marshall has won all 11 of her bouts, all but two coming inside the distance.
Click here to view Savannah’s interview with Seconds Out.
It could be some contest, but don’t expect it to be over in the first couple of rounds.
While Probellum seem to have almost the entire North-East under their umbrella, there is plenty of local interest in the supporting bouts.
Unbeaten trio, Luke Cope, Georgia O’Connor and Michael Webster are all in action as is April Hunter, who will be having her first fight under new coach Peter Fury.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Lawrence Lustig/ BOXXER
