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| (June 27, 2023) – Undisputed super middleweight world champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn puts her titles on the line against former WBO middleweight world champion Savannah Marshall this Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. In the 10-round co-feature, unified junior middleweight world champion Natasha Jonas takes on former two-time title challenger Kandi Wyatt for the vacant IBF welterweight crown. Promoted by BOXXER, Crews Dezurn-Marshall, Jonas-Wyatt and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs) was an international amateur standout before turning pro in 2016 against two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields. She has remained unbeaten since the loss to Shields, capturing the vacant WBC crown via majority decision against Maricela Cornejo in September 2018 and wining the vacant WBO title in a rematch against Cornejo two years later. In her last fight, Crews-Dezurn defeated then-unbeaten WBA and IBF champion Elin Cederroos via 10-round unanimous decision to become the undisputed queen. Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) is a two-time Olympian who holds a win over Shields in as an amateur. She made her pro debut in August 2017 and captured the vacant WBO middleweight world title with a seventh-round TKO win over Hannah Rankin in October 2020. She defended it three times, all by stoppage. In her last fight, her feud with Shields culminated an undisputed middleweight title showdown that handed Marshall her first loss as a pro. She now looks to become champion again in her second opportunity at undisputed glory. Jonas (13-2-1, 8 KOs) became the first female British boxer to compete in the Olympics in 2012. She lost to eventual gold medalist Katie Taylor and entered the paid ranks in 2017. Jonas made unsuccessful bids for Terri Harper’s WBC 130-pound title in August 2020 and Taylor’s undisputed lightweight crown in May 2021. Since then, she has won four straight, including three title showdowns last year that saw her become a three-belt unified junior middleweight champion. Wyatt (11-4, 3 KOs) is an eight-year pro who challenged Kali Reis for the WBA junior welterweight title in November 2020 and Jessica McCaskill for the undisputed welterweight championship in December 2021. She is coming off a 10-round split decision win against Kirstie Bavington in March. In other streaming action from Manchester, United Kingdom: British Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker (3-0, 2 KOs) will square off against Slovakia’s Vladimir Belujsky (13-6-1, 9 KOs) in an eight-round battle that will take place right before the main event. Whitaker will make his second appearance in 2023 after knocking out Jordan Grant in three rounds in May. Super middleweight standout Zak Chelli (13-1-1, 6 KOs) takes on unbeaten Mark Jeffers (15-0, 4 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Chelli has beaten five undefeated opponents, including Germaine Brown for a British super middleweight title in June 2022. In his last outing, he upset Anthony Sims Jr. via 10-round unanimous decision. Jeffers is coming off a six-round decision win over Serhii Ksendzov in May. Unbeaten super middleweight Callum Simpson (11-0, 9 KOs) returns against Boris Crighton (11-3, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight fight. # # # About ESPN+ ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 25.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). |
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