Peter Fury gives Claressa Shields “all the respect” in the world but is fully confident Savannah Marshall will win a blood and snot war to become undisputed champion.
The world middleweight unification confrontation will go ahead at the 02 in London on Saturday, when promoter BOXXER and Sky Sports stage the UK’s first major all-female show.
It had been set to take place on September 10, only for the event to be postponed the day before following the death of the Queen.
Both great champions – each unbeaten with 12 wins against their name – are putting it all on the line in the capital, fighting for the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles, not to mention the famous Ring magazine belt and the WBC’s new Elizabethan belt.
Marshall and Shields clashed verbally in the build up to the original date while the respective camps argued over the merits of who their opposition had beaten previously, with Claressa and her team saying Savannah is NOT the best boxer the American has fought.
Fury, who has been in the Marshall corner for all but one of her dozen professional fights, insists all debates will be settled on the night.
“I’m going to give Claressa all the credit in the world,” said the coach.
“She’s a double Olympic gold medallist and she’s come to London to try to prove she’s the best.
“That is what real world champions do, so I’ll never criticise her as a fighter.
“I give her all the respect, all the accolades.
“But is Savannah the best fighter Claressa’s ever been in the ring with? Yes she is.
“Is that going to be the case [on October 15] in London? Yes it is.
“We’ll see who the best is on the night.
“I haven’t got a crystal ball, this is a 50-50 fight, I’ve always said it is.
“But I have complete confidence in Savannah’s ability and she’s a natural powerhouse.”
Fury has put Marshall through a tortuous camp, testing her physically and mentally to make sure she’s ready for the biggest and hardest fight of her life.
“We’ve prepared for a toe-toe slugfest, a run-around-the-ring boxing match, every scenario,” he said.
“With Savannah being such a high-level athlete, she’s able to adapt to all the different scenarios.
“She’s sparred with a lot of world-level middleweights, there’s been a lot of blood and snot, she’s been hurt but she’s come back to the corner and had the blood wiped off and carried on round after round.
“Savannah has taken this deadly serious and that shows the respect she has for Claressa Shields.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Lawrence Lustig/ BOXXER
