A Boxing Memory: Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall

A Boxing Memory: Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall

It was a rivalry ten years in the making. A defeat in the amateur ranks in 2012 sparked the once-in-a-lifetime feud. Savannah Marshall was the only fighter to ever defeat Claressa Shields in a boxing ring. Shields never forgot. Marshall wouldn’t let her. When they met again in 2022, that first fight was of little significance as to who would win this time. But it was the seed that sold the entire show.

Ben Shalom and Boxxer put on an all-female extravaganza in October 2022. A sold-out O2 Arena in London on a truly historic night. The next generation graced the undercard. Lauren Price, Karriss Artingstall, and Caroline Dubois set up the evening quite nicely for the two fights at the top of the card.

Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner helped sell the show. In truth, they did it quite magnificently. A red-hot build-up. An absorbing ten rounds for super-featherweight unification. Baumgardner edged it on the cards. The crowd booed. And heavily. But Mayer knew it would change nothing. It had the look of unfinished business. Sadly, it still remains that way.

Claressa Shields was only 17 when Savannah Marshall took away that unbeaten record. Shields said it didn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t. The American moved on and won two Olympic gold medals and multiple world titles as a professional.

“I did let it go because I won the Olympics two months later. We all know the story, the world championships, I won the Olympics twice. And then I turned pro, and I am a twelve-time world champion, three-division world champion, two times undisputed. I already knew I had become a better fighter than I was then,” Shields said of their first meeting a decade earlier.

Marshall didn’t deliver in 2012 and 2016 on the Olympic stage. Shields won gold in London and Rio. Early exits in both Olympics left Marshall contemplating a life away from boxing. But after a slow start to her professional career, Marshall found momentum. And most crucially, her confidence. Shalom built her as a headline act. An old rival was the obvious target.

Shields and Marshall exchanged words of much venom in their pre-fight. Marshall held her own. But the American was now in her element. Originally scheduled to take place one month earlier, the passing of the Queen delayed the show for a few weeks, but it only heightened the anticipation.

Marshall defended her WBO world middleweight title. Shields brought her WBC, WBA, and IBF baubles to the party. Undisputed status was on the line. But you sensed it ran a little deeper than that.

The O2 crowd had a different unique feel to it. Women purchased 35% of the available tickets. They created a family atmosphere. A safer space. It felt different, because it was. A reported two million watched the event at home. Nobody was disappointed by what they were served up.

The Savannah faithful came in great numbers. They certainly made themselves heard. Even when the fight was slipping away from their hero, they never stopped roaring, hoping the trajectory of the fight would change. But it was a night that Shields just wouldn’t be denied. As she danced to the ring, the pro-Marshall crowd vented their fury at the two-time Olympic Champion. But it did nothing for the supremely confident American. “I used it for motivation. When they were booing, I thought I am going to make you all fans really really quickly.”

‘Shields fought with anger and spite from the opening seconds. The look to the crowd at the end of that sensational opening round was a look of “I told you all.” Peter Fury, in the opposite corner, told Marshall she can’t keep this up. Fury was wrong. She did.

‘Shields was simply sensational, more than a touch on the theatrical, on the biggest night of her boxing life. Booed heavily into the ring. Cheered out of it. Shields came to the ring a star. And left it a superstar.’ My words from two years ago.

It was an undoubted privilege to be ringside for ten pulsating breathtaking rounds. Marshall never stopped trying. But her opponent was just too much for her. Marshall desperately needed a big fight-changing punch. But it never really looked like coming. One judge saw it 96-94 for Shields. A scorecard that looked a little too close. The two remaining judges saw it 97-93, which was far more reflective of what we witnessed. It was a relentless, thoroughly absorbing spectacle. But I didn’t think it was a close fight. Marshall more than played her part. But Shields fought as if she had a point to prove. She did exactly that.

“It was an incredible night. Everything played out the way it was supposed to play out. I won dominantly the way I knew I could,” Shields told me a few weeks after the fight.

Despite the talk of a rematch, both went their separate ways. Well, kind of. Marshall followed Shields into MMA by way of the PFL. Even in another sport, talk of another fight between the pair is never far away. But even if they never meet again somewhere down the line, Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall gave us something really special at the O2 Arena in London.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer