27-year old Claressa Shields (13-0, 2 KO’s) was victorious in her third undisputed bout – and second at Middleweight – against 31-year old Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KO’s), managing to win decisively through a unanimous decision. The fight was held on October 15, at the O2 Arena in London.
The much-anticipated women’s bout seemingly exceeded expectations as both female combatants gave it their all. The fight seemed to tip in Shields’ favor early on in the fight as Marshall pressed forward, but despite Marshall’s pressure Shields continuously trapped Marshall to catch in her quick counters, or launched her own barrage of combinations that slowed Marshall down enough. Marshall initially struggled to overcome Shields’ pace, and though she was seemingly able to corner Shields it served to be merely traps set for her by the American.
In the latter rounds, Marshall – taking advantage of some of Shields’ fatigue – seemed to find a new wind and managed to get up close to Shields in order to try to land a knockout punch. Though Shields was visibly more tired by then – as well as Marshall herself – and her offensive pace dropped as a result, Marshall seemed to have only one or two rounds where she seemed to dominate. The last (tenth) round of the fight seemed fairly even, with Marshall seeking to assert her size while Shields countered and defended as best she could.
Though both combatants were far from tentative and fought valiantly, Claressa Shields edged out by unanimous decision according to the judges’ scorecards, having made excellent use of her speed, counter attacks, resilience and work ethic. She subsequently won the WBA, WBC, WBO (which belonged to Marshall), IBF and The Ring belt to seal herself in the history books of not only women’s boxing, but boxing in general, and remains undefeated after just her thirteenth pro bout. Also impressive is the fact that Shields has marked her unprecedented win by beating her opponent in her home country of England (United Kingdom).
This also marks Savannah Marshall’s first defeat as a professional who had been unbeaten prior to her undisputed fight with Shields. Marshall first became a WBO world champion in October of 2020 and has held her status and title for two years until this eventual defeat to Claressa Shields. Savannah Marshall noticeably has arguably the best KO ratio (83%) in the modern history of women’s boxing, and despite her loss to Claressa Shields – who might be considered the best active female boxer at this point – she is still the most lethal threat after Shields.
Aside from the Shields vs. Marshall bout, there was also a unified match between the two American Super Featherweight champions Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KO’s) and Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KO’s). The end result – a split decision win for Baumgardner – should be considered controversial; though Baumgardner was relentless in her pursuit of Mayer, the latter virtually kept Baumgardner at bay throughout the whole night by boxing her from the outside and preventing Baumgardner from getting inside the pocket. Though Baumgardner seemed to land some crucial power punches, she didn’t seem to be effective enough to break through Mayer’s discipline and focus on and was often on the receiving end of Mayer’s counters, or simply her effective boxing ability. Even Baumgardner’s pace seemed not to match up with Mayer’s who worked hard and well to keep the distance between her and Baumgardner.
Else on the card, Caroline Dubois (4-0, 3 KO’s) – younger sister of Heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois – beat the much more experienced veteran Milena Koleva (10-15-1, 4 KO’s) by stoppage in a non-championship Lightweight bout.
All the fights on the card were women’s fights, making for a spectacular evening where female competitors in various stages of their careers could showcase their abilities. The main fight between Shields and Marshall marks the end of a near 10-year ‘beef’ after Marshall handed Shields her only loss in the amateur ranks of boxing. With her win, Shields has not only avenged her loss from the amateurs, but broken another record by becoming the first boxer to become undisputed three times in the modern era.
