MIRAMAR, Fla. – August 11, 2022 – Boxing superstar Claressa “G.W.O.A.T.” Shields held a media workout in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area on Thursday as she nears her upcoming undisputed middleweight world championship showdown against longtime rival Savannah Marshall.

Shields vs. Marshall will take place on Saturday, September 10 from The O2, London and be available on ESPN+ for audiences in the U.S. Shields will bring the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles into the showdown against Marshall and her WBO strap, in an event promoted by Salita Promotions and BOXXER in association with Hennessy Sports.

Shields will look to avenge the only loss of her amateur career and end a long war of words with Marshall that has reached a boil in recent years and which stems from Marshall’s points victory over Shields in a 2012 amateur bout.

Joining Shields on Thursday were her trainer John David Jackson and promoter Dmitriy Salita, President of Salita Promotions. In addition, rising 20-year-old prospect Sarah Liegmann showed off her skills ahead of her bout on the Shields vs. Marshall undercard.

Here is what the workout participants had to say Thursday from Square Off Boxing & Fitness:

CLARESSA SHIELDS

On how she feels in training a month away from fight night…

“My body feels good and looks good too. I’m in great spirits. Everybody keeps asking me about my nerves. Sadly, I don’t have any nerves before any fight. I’m super excited to fight. I don’t know why, but I just enjoy it.

“Training camp is really the hardest part leading up to the fight. People say that the fight is going to be the hardest part, and I just don’t believe that the fight will be harder than me putting in three different training sessions per day with four miles of sprints and then me coming to the gym and doing the second session. I don’t believe that one night and a 10-round fight with Savannah Marshall, or any other woman, would be harder than my training.”

On the rivalry with Marshall…

“I don’t know if I dislike (Marshall) more, or was it Christina Hammer? I don’t know. I know both of them are just idiots. Savannah Marshall, she says some of the dumbest things… She said if she walked around calling herself the G.W.O.A.T. that her friends would slap her. As they should… You have one belt. Please don’t call yourself the G.W.O.A.T. Please don’t. The only people who I think have any right to call themselves the G.W.O.A.T. is Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Everyone else, zip it. Savannah Marshall, zip it. You’ve been pro for five years and only have one belt. Of course, your friends should slap you. I should slap you for you talking about wanting to be the G.W.O.A.T., or you’re the G.W.O.A.T. because you beat me 10 years ago.”

To those that are doubting her in this fight…

“To all of you that are doubting me, just make sure you apologize after the fight. Say, ‘We were wrong.’ You don’t have to say you’re the G.W.O.A.T. Just say, ‘We were wrong, you’re the best and we respect you.’ And that you respect my hard work and my accomplishments because (Marshall) was the fluke. Her beating me in 2012 before the Olympics was the fluke of her career. That was her biggest achievement. After that, downhill. It wasn’t a fluke that I won the 2012 Olympics because I won it again, and I won the world championships three times after that. So, she was the fluke, and she’s still a fluke because she’s knocked out a whole bunch of bums.”

On Marshall’s power…

“This whole talk is overblown. A lot of people don’t really realize how many haters I have. I’m one of the most sought-after women boxers and people pay a lot of attention to me, but I have a lot of haters because of how great I am. It’s kind of like I’m Floyd Mayweather, but in a woman’s body, you know.

“So, they want me to lose and they’re going to say anything to make her feel like she’s better. I mean look, I accept her knockout because they’re there. She’s 12-0 with 10 knockouts, but go and look at those girls’ records and then tell me whether she should be knocking them out, or not. And you’re going to say, ‘Yea, you should be knocking out somebody that’s 4-25. You should be knocking out somebody that’s 11-75.’ Plus, you’re fighting them on three days’ notice, a week’s notice. You’re supposed to knock girls out like that.”

On the importance of this fight…

“It’s important to win every fight. (Marshall) doesn’t hold a special place in my heart to where I want to beat her more than I want to beat anyone else in my life. No, that’s not it. I think that people that I think too highly of her. I think she’s a good fighter. I think she’s a big girl for the weight class. But she’s not as skilled as me. She’s not as smart as me, and she doesn’t know how to adjust. That’s what we’re going to see on September 10.”

JOHN DAVID JACKSON, Shields’ Trainer

On preparing Shields for Marshall…

“For this particular camp, there are some certain things we’re working on and that we can take away from Savannah. She’s good, but she’s not as good as she thinks she is. So, we just work on different things. Each fight is different for Claressa and we just want to go in there nice, relaxed and calm and not trying to knock her head off right away because you’ll get her, but it’s probably later than sooner. So, we’re just working on certain things to break Marshall down.”

On Liegmann’s development…

“Sarah has come a long way. She didn’t really box. She kickboxed. But now she’s starting to understand the game of boxing and she’s a lot better now. As time went on, when she came back to America, all the things I told her to work on she had worked on them… I saw the cream of the crop at 126-lbs and she has a shot. She definitely has a shot.”

DMITRIY SALITA, President of Salita Promotions

“There are few male fighters in the history of the sport from the United States who at the peak of their careers have gone across the pond or to a different country to fight their rivals. Floyd Mayweather never left the United States when he was at the peak of his career. Oscar De La Hoya never left the United States during the peak of his career. All these guys, Olympic gold medalists, fantastic fighters, but Claressa is at the top of women’s boxing and is choosing to go across the pond to avenge her only loss in a very, very meaningful event. It’s that type of drive, personality and character that makes a great athlete and a great fighter.”

SARAH LIEGMANN, Unbeaten Prospect

On being a part of the September 10 fight card…

“It’s amazing to be here, train here and have the possibility to fight on this historic fight card. It’s a huge opportunity for me to show the world what I’m capable of. I’m 10 years in already in martial arts, now three years in boxing, and to be on this card just feels amazing.”

On training in Florida…

“To train here in Florida with John David Jackson and to see Claressa Shields training, she’s so inspiring.”

On the hope of becoming a world champion boxer…

“It’s my biggest dream to have the belts. I always wanted to compete. I’m a fighter from when I was a kid and all the way on. I always wanted to step in the ring. I always saw the heavyweight champions, like Anthony Joshua, Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury, and I always wanted these belts and to be the one.”

DETROIT – July 27, 2022 – Boxing superstar Claressa “G.W.O.A.T.” Shields held a media workout in Detroit on Wednesday to preview her upcoming undisputed middleweight world championship showdown against longtime rival Savannah Marshall.

Shields vs. Marshall will take place on Saturday, September 10 from The O2, London and be available on ESPN+ for audiences in the U.S. Shields will bring the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles into the showdown against Marshall and her WBO strap, in an event promoted by Salita Promotions and BOXXER in association with Hennessy Sports.

Shields will look to avenge the only loss of her amateur career and end a long war of words with Marshall that has reached a boil in recent years and which stems from Marshall’s points victory over Shields in a 2012 amateur bout.

Here is what Shields and her promoter Dmitriy Salita had to saw Wednesday from Downtown Boxing Gym:

CLARESSA SHIELDS

On her mindset during training…

“I just want to be better than yesterday. That’s all it’s ever been for me. I’m already better than (Marshall). I already have big accomplishments, gold medals, the wins and everything. It’s not really about her. Yes, she’s a good fighter and everything, and she holds one belt, but I hold 12. I don’t think about her when I’m training. Yes, we have a gameplan for (Marshall), but I’m just trying to be better than I was yesterday.”

On the loss to Marshall in the amateurs…

“I only lost in the amateurs in boxing. I’ve never lost in professional boxing. I’m undefeated. I lost to her 10 years ago in the amateurs by six points. It was 14-8. But that really doesn’t bother me at all because I’ve been able to be successful after that. On the other hand, you’ve got (Marshall) who lost every tournament she was in after our fight, and in those same tournaments I won gold.

“So having one loss in the amateurs and being able to turn pro and do everything that I’ve done since, I don’t really care about (that loss). But I think it’s a great story and storyline, and I guess we’ve got history. She doesn’t like me. I don’t like her, and I’m looking forward to fighting in six weeks.”

On being a model and mentor to younger women and athletes…

“I know that I have a big impact on the city of Flint and Michigan, and just throughout the U.S. for all the Black girls and girls who want to box. And I do take pride in it. That’s why I carry myself the way that I do. That’s why I continue to be confident. People have tried to force me to quiet down, and find a happy medium, and be nice to my opponents, and don’t trash talk, but it’s boxing.

“I’m very passionate about the sport and I love trash talking. I love the build-up to fights. And I’m officially a millionaire. I can do what I want, and I don’t have to follow all these rules that they put on women. So I just want to show the younger girls coming up to just be you.

“As far as helping the kids of Flint, I don’t know where I’d be without boxing. So me giving back with the Shields Community Outreach nonprofit is very heartwarming for me. I’ve met over 100 to 150 kids over the last few weeks and been able to teach them, spend time with them and mold them. You get to see people who didn’t have confidence gain confidence and see a future in themselves. I’m just happy that their parents give me the opportunity to do that.”

On training in both Michigan and Florida…

“I’ve been in training camp here in Michigan for five weeks already. I usually do six weeks of camp. But for this camp, since it’s so important and she’s such a big puncher, we’re going to put in an extra five weeks for (Marshall).

“I like training in Florida. It’s hot. I don’t have any distractions, like family and friends and stuff like that. That’s just where I do all my training camps. I’ve never done a full camp here in Flint.”

On the emotions ahead of September 10…

“Marshall has been quiet since the press conference. She was quiet during our sit together. I was thinking she would have more energy and more spite. But when we were face-to-face she tucked her tail, and that just showed me right there that she didn’t want this fight. She knows she’s not going to win this fight. I saw her do an interview where she had a black eye. So they’ve been trying to put her through all kinds of stuff in sparring to make sure she’s ready. But the truth is she’s lightyears behind me.”

On the strength of Shields’ professional opposition compared to Marshall’s…

“Marshall has fought a whole bunch of tomato cans. She might be 12-0 with 10 knockouts, but if you go and look at her record, the majority of those girls had losing records. You’re supposed to knock them out on three days’ notice, or a week’s notice.”

On the value of her previous experience in undisputed fights…

“When we get inside the ring, she hasn’t done this before. She hasn’t fought for an undisputed championship. This will be my third time. So people love to build it up and trash talk, but she’s going to want to talk trash in the ring, and I’m just setting that to the side and focused on training to be better, faster, stronger, sharper and smarter. I think she knows that and that she’s in for a tough fight.”

DMITRIY SALITA, President of Salita Promotions

On making the deal for Shields vs. Marshall…

“Claressa’s goal has always been to prove that she’s the greatest female boxer of this generation. She’s been doing this so far in her career. I’m surprised that the oddsmakers see Claressa as the underdog, but she has been proving the odds wrong her whole life, from growing up in Flint, to becoming two-time Olympic gold medalist, to being the face of women’s boxing and taking this sport to the next level.”

On how he sees the fight playing out inside the ring…

“I think the same thing will happen that happened when Claressa fought Christina Hammer. People thought it was going to be a tough, challenging fight, but they say pressure makes diamonds and I believe that Claressa is a great, great athlete and that situation is only going to make her step up to that next level and bring out her true potential. I believe she’ll raise her performance to the next level and outlast Savannah Marshall.”

On the significance of Shields vs. Marshall…

“This is a big event and a big fight, and I really believe that this is quite a significant cultural event as well. We’ve seen a tremendous media turnout here today, which is great. Not only is it great for this fight, but it also shows the return and growth of boxing and Claressa is big part of it.”

On Marshall’s strengths…

“She’s a good boxer. She’s getting better with each fight. She has good footwork, good power, a good jab. I believe that she’s a good, solid fighter. But as Roger Mayweather used to say, there are levels to this. And I believe Claressa is on a different level. Savannah is a good fighter. We respect her for stepping up to the plate. But great fighters like Claressa make good fighters like Savannah look subpar, and that’s what I think will happen on September 10.”

LONDON – July 5, 2022 – Bitter rivals Claressa “GWOAT” Shields and Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall went face to face and declared their intention to capture the undisputed middleweight world championship on Tuesday as they previewed their long awaited showdown during a press conference in London followed by a virtual press conference for international media.

The most anticipated women’s fight of all time will take place Saturday, September 10 from The O2, London and be available on ESPN+ for audiences in the U.S. Shields will bring the WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight titles into the showdown against Marshall and her WBO strap, in an event promoted by BOXXER and Salita Promotions in association with Hennessy Sports.

Shields will look to avenge the only loss of her storied career, an amateur defeat at the hands of Marshall in 2012, which kicked off the rivalry and war of words that continues to this day.

The co-main event of this historic card is a bout presented in association with Top Rank which will see WBO and IBF world champion Mikaela Mayer and WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner face off in a unification bout in the 130-pound division.

Be first in line to get exclusive access to discounted tickets by joining the waiting list at Boxxer.com. The fight will air live and exclusively in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports and is presented in association with official partners bet365, Everlast, WOW HYDRATE and Village Hotels.

Here is what Shields, Marshall and Salita Promotions President Dmitriy Salita had to say Tuesday:

CLARESSA SHIELDS

“It means a lot to be here. I’m grateful that the UK fans have accepted me, once again, to come out here and fight. Savannah Marshall got lucky in 2012, but she won’t get lucky in 2022. I was 17 and also London was hosting the Olympics and they favored her. I never scored eight points in any of my fights, leading up. And then with the point system, all of a sudden I score eight? I just scored 30 points the day before, as I did every other fight and then, against her, I only scored eight points versus her 14? I was 17. She couldn’t shake me. She didn’t drop me. She couldn’t even get an eight count, but now she’s a knockout puncher?

“The Olympics and the amateurs matter to you. As an amateur, you went 60-16 with zero knockouts. I was 77-1, 19 KOs. You had zero (knockouts). You can’t do anything I can do. You can sit here and talk, but you’re not going to win on September 10. 

“I don’t hate nobody, but I do have a huge dislike for her. My grandma told me not to use the word hate, so I don’t use it, but I don’t like her and she’s one of my biggest haters.

“They’re making it out that she’s a big knockout puncher and she’s the only blemish on my record as an amateur and she has the recipe to beat me. My job is to show everybody in the world that she doesn’t and that I reign supreme in three different weight classes for a reason. If she was the one who was really supreme, she would be champion in three different weight classes and not me. 

“She’s a slow fighter and that is going to hurt her. Also, she’s tall but doesn’t know how to fight tall. All that inside stuff isn’t going to work against me!

“We are not here, about to fight in front of 80,000, because you‘ve won one belt. I’m the champ. I’m the GWOAT. Nobody knows you. Every time I speak of you, you get bigger. After this, you’re going to have 20,000 more followers because I’m here, not because of anything you’ve done.

“I’m happy that there’s another championship fight on the card, especially the women. Me and Mikaela went to the Olympics and the world championships together, and Alicia lives not even 45 minutes from where I live, so I’m friends with her too. This is one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing. We’re fighting in front of 80,000. We have a great co-main and there will be more women added to the card.

“Salita Promotions has never failed me. When I first met Dmitriy Salita and he asked me what my goals were, I said I want to be world champ in my seventh fight. I was world champ in my fourth fight. I told him I wanted to be undisputed champ against whoever the champion was. I’m like ‘get me the best. I want to fight the best, every fight.’ And he shook his head and said ‘yes, yes yes, we’re going to make it happen’. And after I beat Christina Hammer, I told him I’m not fighting for no less than $350,000, moving forward and he made sure I got $350,000 for those fights after that. In women’s boxing back then.

“Salita Promotions has been great to be with. I just love Dmitriy so much because he’s actually a fighter. We got in the ring and sparred together. To have a promoter who knows what we put ourselves through, he’s always asking me what else he can do and what else do I need? He always makes sure he comes through for me and he comes to visit me every single camp to make sure I’m feeling good and everything. I’m happy to be part of Salita Promotions.”

SAVANNAH MARSHALL

“This fight has been a long time coming, but we are here now and on September 10, I will be the new undisputed middleweight champion of the world.

“I’m a fan of Claressa Shields. What she’s done for the sport is amazing. She’s a pioneer for the sport, but the reality is, she doesn’t beat me. The first time we fought she didn’t perform and she won’t again on September 10. That’s what it is and it kills her. It burns her inside.

“I’ve knocked out people you went 10 rounds with. I’m not just going to beat you. I’m going to hurt you and outbox you. That’s all you need to know. I’m a better fighter. I’ll have all her world titles on September 10.

“It’s amazing, not just for me and Claressa headlining, but also having an amazing fight in Mikaela and Alycia. I think their fight is a headliner on its own. Sharing the night with them two will be unbelievable.

“I win this fight through heart and my boxing brain. On September 10, I will become the champion of the world. And that will be the end of her rubbish. See you on September 10, babe.

“I believe I’m a better fighter than Claressa Shields. I’m more skilled than Claressa. I believe I’m more determined.”

DMITRIY SALITA, President of Salita Promotions

“This fight has literally been a year in the making, and for us on the team, years in the making, so I’m very happy that we’re here. Claressa is not only known as the GWOAT because she’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, multi-time amateur boxing world champion, three-division professional world champion and a two-division undisputed world champion, but because of what she’s doing right here. She’s traveling thousands of miles away from her hometown to avenge the only loss of her career when she was 17 years old. The rivalry could have been forgotten about, but she is the GWOAT.

“The boxing fans in the UK are phenomenal. I know they will appreciate Claressa’s aim and goal to be the best and to challenge herself and to get out of her comfort zone of the United States and to come out here and avenge that only loss.

“I really believe that Claressa Shields is a generational athlete who, 20 years from now, will be mentioned along with the greatest athletes like Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Pele… the greatest athletes who transcended their sport.

“I believe the reason Savannah is here and the reason many women are getting the respect they deserve is because of the success of Claressa Shields.

“As a little kid, before women’s boxing was a business, Claressa made a choice to go to the gym and strive to be the best. As a kid, to have that dream and to accomplish it and be sitting here now, is really incredible. Claressa Shields is not only an American hero, she’s a hero for the world. She has done a lot for not only women’s sports, but women’s rights too and I am very grateful and honored to be part of this incredible journey.

“This is the buildup of a very high-level championship fight. There is such a rivalry between them for fans to get behind. This event is not only a great sporting event, it’s a great cultural event. It’s going to be a fantastic night of boxing on September 10.”

LONDON (July 5, 2022) – Two heated rivalries will come to a head Saturday, Sept. 10 in a historic championship doubleheader at the O2 Arena in London.
 
The previously announced main event will see two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields, the WBC/WBA/IBF/Ring Magazine middleweight champion, aim to once again become undisputed at 160 pounds by facing longtime rival and WBO titleholder Savannah Marshall.
 
Shields and Marshall faced off as amateurs, with Marshall edging Shields by decision at the 2012 AIBA Women’s World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China. Shields went 77-1 as an amateur and is the only female boxer to win undisputed titles in two weight classes.
 
In the co-feature, Mikaela Mayer will look to get one step closer to becoming the first undisputed champ in her division by putting her WBO/IBF/Ring Magazine junior lightweight titles on the line against WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner.
 
A total of seven world titles and two Ring Magazine belts will be on the line.
 
Promoted by Salita Promotions and Boxxer, in association with Top Rank, Shields-Marshall, Mayer-Baumgardner, and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+
 
Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) is a Los Angeles native who achieved international recognition when she represented the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The following year, she signed with Top Rank and unleashed an impressive run of victories, including a one-sided decision over Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020 to capture the WBO 130-pound title. In 2021, she unified the WBO and IBF titles in an action-packed slugfest against Maiva Hamadouche, which also earned her the Ring Magazine belt. In her last outing, she retained her titles with a decisive win over former champion Jennifer Han. Mayer is confident that she will take a positive step forward toward becoming undisputed champion.
 
Mayer said, “I’m here to make the biggest fights possible, so I salute my team for making her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Huge thanks to Boxxer, Top Rank, Salita Promotions, ESPN and Sky Sports for working together to co-promote such an iconic event! I am ecstatic to finally be making my UK debut and to share the stage once again with my Olympic sis, Claressa Shields. I LOVE this era of women’s boxing because we are re-writing the narrative and working to give our supporters the fights they DESERVE. To date, I’ve accomplished all I said I was going to do, and this next fight will be no different. I have all the tools and experience I need. There are levels to this sport, and she’s nowhere near mine. You can bet on it.”
 
Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) is a five-year pro who burst onto the scene by traveling to Sheffield, England, to challenge WBC champion Terri Harper. Though fighting on enemy turf in front of thousands of British fans, the native of Fremont, Ohio landed a perfectly timed counter right hand that knocked Harper out on her feet. Baumgardner then made the first defense of her crown in April with a shutout decision over former unified world champion Edith Soledad Matthysse. After months of exchanges on social media, Baumgardner did not mince her words about Mayer. 
 
Baumgardner said, “When we are both gray and old, Mayer is still going to be having Alycia Baumgardner flashbacks. When she is lying horizontally in the ring, Mayer will think back to the first time my name left her mouth and she’s going to wish it hadn’t. I guess we’re going to find out if Regina George has a chin. Not only will Mayer feel my power, but her descendants are also going to feel what I do to her. Not only will I take Mayer’s belts, but I’ll take everything from her. She’ll be lucky if I let her keep her name. If I’m not haunting her dreams before the fight, I will be after it. If you come at the queen, you best not miss. On the bright side for Mayer, a loss to me will be the best result on her resumé.”
 

Newcastle, England – (April 2, 2022) – WBO middleweight champion Savannah ‘The Silent Assassin’ Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) headlined the Utilita Arena, Newcastle on Saturday night in knockout fashion against Femke Hermans (12-4, 5 KOs) setting up the biggest fight in women’s boxing history against the WBC, IBF & WBA middleweight champion Claressa Shields (12-0, 2 KOS).

Marshall proved successful on her third defence as she stalked Hermans throughout the early rounds and calculated her opponent in the process. At the death of the third round Marshall detonated a powerful left hook that knocked Hermans out cold, sending a message to her arch-nemesis ringside.

The Hartlepool fighter trained and mentored by Peter Fury holds the reputation as the most ferocious puncher in women’s boxing and she more than lived up to the hype with her 10th knockout of her professional career.

However, Hermans proved to be no pushover in the build-up to the fight, a former world champion who has fought Shields and taken her 12 rounds, losing respectively in the process.

Many would have been taking this fight as a direct comparison to how Shields and Marshall fared against Hermans. The anticipated fight against Shields next has all boxing fans chomping at the bit, Marshall remains the only fighter to have beaten Shields when she beat her in the amateurs in 2012.

Marshall is considered to be the biggest female puncher on the planet and maybe all time, she becomes the only fighter to have stopped Hermans and the fight against Shields will be one of the biggest fights of the year.

In chief support, ‘The Albanian King’ Florian Marku (11-0-1, 7 KOs) successfully defended his IBF International Welterweight title in his toughest test to date against the former British and Commonwealth titlist Chris Jenkins (23-5-3, 8 KOs).

Lasting just four rounds, the fiery Albanian landed a big right hand that rocked Jenkins heavily with the referee stepping in soon after.

Marku did seem to struggle at times with Jenkins and was often outboxed, Jenkins established his jab early in the fight and relied on the punch to disrupt Marku’s flow throughout the length of the fight.

The victory establishes itself as the best in Marku’s relatively short career with a fight against fellow BOXXER fighter Chris Kongo (13-1, 7 KOs) just around the corner.

Zak Chelli (11-1-1, 6 KOs) returned to boxing duties for the first time in a year with a hard-earned stoppage over late opponent Jack Kilgannon (11-1, 3 KOs) in the sixth round, handing him his first defeat in the process.

A clash of heads occurred in the sixth round with Chelli coming off worse with a huge cut on the hairline, the cut appeared to annoy Chelli, and he unleashed a ferocious overhead right knocking Kilgannon out towards the end of the round.

The super middleweight is no stranger to performing under the BOXXER banner as he won the super middleweight BOXXER tournament in 2020. The 24-year-old will take the momentum of the victory into the rest of year which he will be hoping will see himself challenging for titles.

British boxings latest breakout star Brad Rea (13-0, 5 KOs) added another victory to his journey with BOXXER, defeating a testing opponent in Lukas Ndafoluma (20-5, 10 KOs) on points.

After his emphatic first round stoppage last time out against Craig McCarthy (8-1-1, 2 KOs), Rea took his time in this fight and gained valuable rounds in the process. The referee scored the eight-round bout 78-73 in Rea’s favour.

At the end of the fourth round, Rea switched to the southpaw stance and landed a perfectly timed left cross to counter Ndafoluma’s attack and drop him to the canvas. The punch woke the Newcastle crowd and certainly changed the balance of the fight.

Considered a step up for the 24-year-old from Manchester, the WBA African middleweight champion Ndafoluma proved a worthy opponent and allowed Rea to learn from a different style of opponent.

Hailing from a boxing family, Luke Cope (4-0, 0 KOs) was victorious in his return to the ring beating journeyman Lee Connelly (8-73-6, 0 KOs) over four rounds by unanimous decision, 39-37.

The 24-year-old last fought in March 2019 but due to the pandemic the young super lightweights career suffered. Cope and his team will be hoping for a bright 2022 with lots of activity inside the ring.

Following last October’s upset defeat to Kirstie Bavington (5-2-2, 2 KOs), Newcastle’s own April Hunter (5-1, 0 KOs) returned to winning ways with a 60-54 unanimous decision victory against Ester Konecna (1-15-1, 0 KOs) in the very same arena she lost her unbeaten record.

Switching camps to join forces with Peter Fury and Savannah Marshall, Hunter will be looking to build on this victory and continue her young career in the right direction.

Undefeated British cruiserweight Michael Webster (7-0, 5 KOs) gained his fifth consecutive stoppage victory with an impressive 3rd round stoppage against Erdogan Kadrija (17-5, 11 KOs).

After an up and down fight week with his previous opponent pulling out, Webster was matched with the travelling German Kadrija who boasted an impressive record going into the fight.

The 27-year-old from Middlesbrough must look forward to the next stage in his career as a step-up fight should be next. The heavy-handed cruiserweight has the potential to be a problem in what is one of Britain’s most improved divisions in recent years.

Georgia ‘Geo’ O’Connor (2-0, 0 KOs) continued her young professional career with BOXXER as she defeated Erica Alvarez (2-6, 0 KOs) via a unanimous decision over six rounds.

Formerly with Team GB and a five-time national champion as an amateur, Geo used her boxing ability to convincingly beat the Argentine earlier on the undercard.

Hosea Stewart (2-0, 0 KOs) faced the well-seasoned heavyweight journeyman Phil Williams (4-35-1, 1 KOs) earlier in the night at the Utilita Arena. Stewart, the 24-year-old, took the four scheduled rounds to defeat Williams but made sure he did so with a convincing unanimous decision that the referee scored 40-36.

Matty Harris (2-0, 1 KOs) made easy work of his second professional fight as the young heavyweight crushed Mait Metsis (0-5) in the first round with a beautifully timed right uppercut, that will be remembered as the most brutal knockout of the night.

Full fight results

Savannah Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) def. Femke Hermans (12-4, 5 KOs) – 3rd KO, 10×2 WBO middleweight title.

Florian Marku (11-0-1, 7 KOs) def. Chris Jenkins (23-5-4, 8 KOs) – 4th rnd TKO, 10×3 IBF International welterweight title.

Zak Chelli (11-1-1, 6 KOs) def. Jack Kilgannon (11-1, 3 KOs) – R6 KO, 8×3 super middleweight.

Brad Rea (13-0, 5 KOs) def. Lukas Ndafoluma (20-5, 10 KOs) – UD 78-73, 8×3 middleweight.

Luke Cope (4-0, 0 KOs) def. Lee Connelly (8-73-6, 0 KOs) – UD 39-37, 4×3 super lightweight.

April Hunter (5-1, 0 KOs) def. Ester Konecna (1-15-1, 0 KOs) – UD 60-54, 6×2 super welterweight.

Michael Webster (7-0, 5 KOs) def. Erdogan Kadrija (17-5, 11 KOs). – R3 TKO, 6×3 cruiserweight.

Georgia O’Connor (2-0, 0 KOs) def. Erica Alvarez (2-6, 0 KOs) – UD 60-55, 6×2 super welterweight.

Hosea Stewart (2-0, 0 KOs) def. Phil Williams (4-25-1, 1 KOs) – UD 40-36, 4×3 heavyweight.

Matty Harris (2-0, 1 KOs) def. Mait Metsis (0-5) – R1 KO, 4×3 heavyweight.

Newcastle, England – (April 2, 2022) – Tempers boiled over at today’s BOXXER Newcastle: Marshall vs Hermans official weigh-ins today when Florian Marku, the defending IBF International Welterweight Champion, faced off with challenger Chris Jenkins.

Marku had strong but inaudible words for Jenkins, prompting Jenkins to sarcastically blow him a kiss in response. This incensed the Albanian champion; he grabbed Jenkins by the throat, forcing security to intervene quickly and separate the two enraged fighters.

All fighters made weight at the first attempt today, including WBO World Middleweight Champion Savannah Marshall, who defends her title against former champion Femke Hermans in the headline bout of tomorrow night’s event, live on Sky Sports.

Below please find today’s official weights and the running order for tomorrow night’s event:

FIGHT #1: 17:00

6×3 Mins Welterweight Contest

Michael Likalu 11st 3lb 8oz (157 v Carl Turney 11st 2lb (156lb)

FACEBOOK SKY SPORTS BOXING LIVE STREAM: 17.30 (approx)

FIGHT #2

4×3 Mins Heavyweight Contest

Matty Harris 18st 8lb (260lb) v Matt Metsis 16st 8lb (232lb)

FIGHT #3

4×3 Mins Heavyweight Contest

Hosea Stewart 24st 8lb (344lb) v Phil Williams 18st 1lb (253lb)

FIGHT #4

6×2 Mins Super-Welterweight Contest

Georgia O’Connor 10st 13lb 8 (153.05lb) v Erica Alvarez 10st 12lb (152lb)

FIGHT #5

6×3 Mins Cruiserweight Contest

Michael Webster 14st 6lb (202lb) v Erdogan Kadrija 14st 4lb (200lb)

FIGHT #6

6×2 Mins Super-Welterweight Contest

April Hunter 11st 1lb (155lb) v Ester Konecna 11st 1lb 8oz (155.05lb)

FIGHT #7

4×3 Mins Super-Lightweight Contest

Luke Cope 10st (140lb) v Lee Connelly 10st 8oz (140.05lb)

LIVE ON SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT: 20:00

FIGHT #8

8×3 Mins Middleweight Contest

Brad Rea 11st 6lb 8oz (160.05lb)v Lukasz Ndafoluma 11st 6lb (160lb)

FIGHT #9

8×3 Mins Super-Middleweight Contest

Zak Chelli 11st 12lb 8oz (166.05lb) v Jack Kilgannon 12st (168lb)

FIGHT #10

10×3 Mins Welterweight Contest

Florian Marku 10st 6lb 8oz (146.05lb) v Chris Jenkins 10st 6lb (146lb)

FIGHT #11

10×2 Mins WBO Middleweight Title Contest

Savannah Marshall 11st 5lb (159lb) v Femke Hermans 11st 4lb 8oz (158.05lb)

FIGHT #12

*TV SWING* 

4×2 Mins Super-Flyweight Contest

Chloe Watson 8st 1lb 8oz (113.05lb) v Gemma Ruegg 8st 1lb 8oz (113.05lb)

Savannah Marshall says she has “tunnel vision” going into this Saturday’s defence of her WBO World Middleweight Title defence against Femke Hermans, the former WBO World Super-Middleweight Champion. 

Marshall headlines the BOXXER card taking place at Newcastle Utilita Arena, live on Sky Sports, knowing that a win will set up a showdown with bitter rival Claressa Shields, an encounter which would be the biggest fight in the history of women’s boxing.

The defending champion is immune to distraction however and is not looking past this Saturday’s bout against the hard-hitting Hermans.

SAVANNAH MARSHALL 

“I’ve got tunnel vision when it comes to who I’m fighting. I know I can’t overlook Femke. This is definitely my toughest fight to date. She’s a former world champion, she’s only ever been beaten by world champions so I’m expecting a tough fight.”

“Everyone keeps asking how I can focus on Femke when everyone is talking about Claressa. But the thing is, everyone’s been talking about Claressa for the past four years. She’s always been creeping about in the background for me, this is nothing new.

“[A win on Saturday means there is] nothing stopping setting up a massive fight between me and Claressa in the summer.”

FEMKE HERMANS

“I’m in very good shape, I’ve had a great training camp, everything has fallen together in the last month and I am ready to kick some ass on Saturday.”

“I’m going to do everything I can on Saturday. For me it’s a big chance to get back at the highest level after some difficult years. I’m going to give everything on Saturday so I can take the belt home so I can be the WBO champion in two different weight classes.”

Newcastle, England – 31 March 2022 – Undefeated Jack ‘The Cannon’ Kilgannon will now face rival Zak Chelli this Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle in a battle of the super-middleweight prospects on the undercard of Savannah Marshall’s WBO World Middleweight title defence against Femke Herman, live on Sky Sports.

Oldham’s Kilgannon (11-0, 3 KO’s) replaces Diego Costa, who was announced yesterday but was unable to make the required weight safely at short notice, and it pits two fiercely proud, up-and-coming talents who are willing to face each other on the rise in their careers.

To his credit Former Southern Area Champion Chelli (10-1-1, 5 KO’s) is not phased by the late change and wants to get on with the job and deal with whatever is put in front of him to prove that he’s the real deal.

Fulham’s Chelli said, “I’m ready no matter what. I believe a boxer has to be prepared to face anybody at any time. I’m fit and ready and I’ll deal with whatever Kilgannon brings to me in the ring on the night. He’s unbeaten, like Costa was, Kilgannon’s ‘O’ will have to go instead.”

Former Central Area Champion Kilgannon, known as Jacky Boy, was already in training for a fight this Saturday in Wigan and jumped at the opportunity for a bigger fight

Kilgannon said, “I weighed up the risk versus the reward and this was too big an opportunity to turn down. I was in training for a fight in Wigan so I’m fit and ready to fight and then the offer came in to my manager. I’m a big and tall middleweight so super-middle is comfortable for me. It’s a huge opportunity live on Sky Sports to make my name by beating Chelli, who’s good but not outstanding. We’re coming to win.”

Newcastle, England – 30 March 2022 – Fulham’s Zak Chelli will face the undefeated Brazilian Diego ‘Dynamite’ Costa in an exciting super-middleweight showdown on the undercard of Savannah Marshall’s WBO World Middleweight Title defence against Femke Hermans this Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, exclusively live on Sky Sports.

Fulham’s Chelli, who works as a supply teacher in London, has finished his school week early as he heads to the North East for his big clash with the heavy-punching Manchester based Latino who is regarded as one of the most avoided fighters around the weight.

Chelli (10-1-1, 5 KO’s) and Costa (8-0, 5 KO’s) could have met in the BOXXER 7 Super-Middleweight tournament in November 2020, but the tournament was reduced to a unique four-man format and Costa didn’t feature due to illness.

However, Chelli put on a classy and powerful performance on the night to shut out Vladimir Georgiev on points in the semi-final, before dropping Mike McGoldrick three times on the way to a second round stoppage in the final.

Former Southern Area Champion Chelli’s last fight was in April last year when he travelled to Kiev and defeated Borden Harrkavyi with a third round stoppage.

KO king Costa is unbeaten eight fights with five KO’s, with four of those coming quick inside three rounds. He credits his love of salsa dancing for his quick feet and generating the power from his hips to knockout opponents.

Chelli is excited with the fight against Costa and is promising to take his unbeaten record. He said, “I was gutted that we didn’t fight on Boxxer 7, but things happen for a reason and it’s a much better fight now down the line. Costa’s unbeaten, he likes to come forward, have a fight and he can punch. I can’t wait for this Saturday in Newcastle and I’m going to take that ‘0’ off his record. The fans in Newcastle and the viewers watching on Sky Sports are going to be in for a real treat.”

CARDIFF, WALES (February 5, 2022) – Boxing superstar Claressa “G.W.O.A.T.” Shields successfully defended her WBC/WBA/IBF Middleweight world titles Saturday night with a unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten top-rated challenger Ema Kozin from Cardiff, Wales.

Shields dominated the action on her way to a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards, with all three seeing the fight 100-90 for boxing’s only two-division undisputed champion. Click HERE and HERE for post-fight photos from the bout.

With WBO Middleweight Champion Savannah Marshall ringside, Shields moved one step closer to a highly-anticipated grudge match against Marshall later this year. Marshall owns an amateur victory over Shields, the only boxing defeat Shields has ever suffered in the amateur or pro ranks.

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Conor Benn Scored an impressive 1st round stoppage over Samuel Vargas in the opening round of heir scheduled 12-round welterweight bout at the Copper Box Arena in London England.

Vargas landed a hard right that was followed by a uppercut that hurt Vargas. Benn jumped all over Vargas and landed vicious flurry and the fight was stopped at 1:20.

Benn, 146.6 lbs of Essex, ENG is 18-0 with 12 knockouts. Vargas, 146.6 lbs of Bogota, COL is 31-7.

“I train hard for it,” said Benn. “Again, you’re talking levels. It shows the level I’m at. Errol Spence, Danny Garcia, Vergil Ortiz, Amir Khan – nobody banged him out like that. First round, first round! He came and he was game. He took my belt off me in the week and I had a little stare down with him.

“He was telling me he was ready to fight, and he was talking a good game. He said I had no power. It’s irrelevant because a lot of people can talk. My shots were landing flush. You could tell they were hurting him. When I first hit him it landed swiftly and I thought, ‘right, this is going to be a much quicker night than I thought’.

“I’ve been working on my power with my strength and conditioning coach Dan Lawrence. We’ve been working with Tony, endless hours. First to arrive last to leave. He’s always pushing me. I told you lot I’d knock him out in the first round. I was cool, calm and collected. I work so hard. 

“Give me Amir Khan. I know he’s too busy on reality TV. If he wants it, he can have it. I can deal with pressure. I can cope with it. I can live with it, no problem. I’m ready for the top dogs – Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner? Forget the word prospect, I ain’t a prospect no more.”

Marshall stops Lindberg in 3; Retains Middleweight Title

Savannah Marshall remained undefeated and retained her WBO Middleweight title with a 3rd round stoppage over late-replacement Maria Lindberg

In round two, Marshall dropped Lindberg with a right hand. In round three, it was a left hook that put Lindberg on the deck, and she was counted out at 1:11.

Marshall, 159.9 lbs of Hartlepool, ENG is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Lindberg, 154 lbs of Malmo, SWE is 19-7-2.

“To be honest, I really didn’t think it would pan out like that,” said Marshall. “Maria is one tough woman. She keeps herself in shape all year round. She’d never been stopped in 27-fights. I thought I was in for a bit of a tough night’s work.

“Once I started finding my range with the jab then the backhand just found its way home and I don’t think she could handle the power. She just said there she’s never been dropped in 23 years! I’m quite proud of that.

“On Sunday, I didn’t even think I was going to fight, and then they brought Maria in. It kind of rocked the boat a bit. A quick change of tactics and we got the job done. She’s been in with some good girls, Christina Hammer, she’s boxed for numerous World Titles. She wanted mine, but she’s not getting it. I’m truly grateful to Maria for stepping up. Big thanks to her.

“I’ve heard whispers we’re going back to Newcastle in July, hopefully with crowds. I’d love to box for the IBF Title which is vacant. I feel good at this weight, I’m a big Middleweight. Me against Shields is the only fight at the bigger weights. It has to happen really. There’s nowhere else for her to go. She needs me just as much as I need her.”

Courtenay Decisions Bridges in war; Wins Bantamweight Title

Shannon Courtenay won the WBA Bantamweight with a unanimous decision over Ebanie Bridges in a toe-to-toe slugfest

In round two, both Bridges and Courtenay were cut from a headbutt. Bridges on her forehead, and Courtenay around her right ear. In round five, the left eye of Bridges started to swell.

Bridges continued to push the pace and even hurt Courtenay in round seven. Courtenay had a strong final few rounds, and won y scores of 98-92 twice and 97-94.

Courtenay, 117.1 lbs of Watford, ENG is 7-1. Bridges, 117 lbs of New South Wales, AUS is 5-1.

“Amazing. I don’t want to cry. Amazing,” said Courtenay. “I feel like my jab won me the fight to be honest. My conditioning, my attrition, all of the hard work. My two coaches Charlie and H kill me on a daily basis. They kill me in the gym. I hate them for it, but it bloody paid off. My nice jab, my fitness and my conditioning won me that fight.

“I have to give credit to her because that was a bloody good fight. She was tougher than I thought she’d be. I knew if I stuck to my boxing I’d win. I had to keep listening to Charlie – he kept saying, ‘box, box, box’. When I was getting into a war it was stupid of me. The jab won me the fight.

“There was respect before I got in the ring because anybody that gets in the ring deserves respect. I now have more respect for her. When it was a shootout that was my own stupidity. I’ve come a long way. I’ve said it all week. Tonight is proof that anyone can turn their life around.

“I’m a different person to who I was back then. I’m a World Champion baby! I’m wearing this belt everywhere. This is such a proud moment for me. This is such a good example to young girls that you can turn your life around. I can’t put it into words.”

Farooq Decisions Espinoza

Kash Farooq win a 10-round unanimous decision over Alexander Espinoza in a bantamweight bout.

It was an action packed fight that saw both fighters scrap from in close. In round seven, Farooq was cut around his right eye, The blood was caused by a head clash.

Farooq, 117 lbs of Glasgow, SCO won by scores of 97-93, 97-94 and 97-95 and is now 15-1. Espinoza, 117.8 lbs of Managua, NIC is 20-3-2.

“I’m over the moon with the performance,” Farooq told Sky Sports. “I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I came as an underdog, he was the champion. He took some really heavy shots and he kept coming and coming. 

“When you’re a champion you don’t want to give your belt up. He just wanted to win. That’s why he came here. I wasn’t going to be denied. It’s a lot of hard work in the gym. Practice, practice and practice. It’s second nature because I’ve been working on this for such a long time. I can see the punches coming.”

Campbell Takes Out Frohlich in 2

Nick Campbell made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Petr Frohlich in a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

Campbell dropped Frohlich in the 2nd frame with a right. He finished off the fight with a flurry that forced a referee stoppage at 41 seconds.

Campbell, 248.8 lbs of Glasgow, SCO is 1-0 with one knockout. Frohlich, 226.6 lbs of Most, CZE is 2-31-1.

“I like to try and stay humble, I expected to get rid of that guy to be honest with you,” said Campbell. “I know he’s not been knocked out many times in his losses and he’s tough. He took some shots there. I’m pleased with how it went. I put him down once and then the referee jumped in and stopped it.

“In my opinion it was the dream debut. Making my debut on a stage like that after everything that happened in the past year is something that I’d have never of dreamed of. I’m just buzzing to be here and to be talking to you. I’m happy with my performance. I went in there and I had a high work rate. I was just trying to display the things we’d been working on in the gym.

“I can’t thank my team enough for all of the hard work they’ve put into me. They’re the best team around in my opinion. All of the people that have been singing my praises, that was for you, so thank you. I’m a bit older than most people that make their debut, but I feel young. Every fight that I have is a step further than people thought I could go. I’m just here to prove people wrong and work hard.”

Savannah Marshall believes her late stand-in opponent Maria Lindberg will prove to be a tougher assignment than her original opponent Femke Hermans when they meet for the WBO Middleweight World Title tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories.

Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Hannah Rankin in seven rounds to win the vacant WBO crown last October, the former amateur World Champion was a class above her Scottish rival from the opening bell and managed to go one better than her old foe Claressa Shields by ending the fight inside the distance.

The Hartlepool fighter was due to face Belgium’s Hermans in her maiden defence until the European Champion was forced to pull out of their contest just days ago due to two positive Coronavirus tests in her camp. 

Sweden’s Lindberg, a former four-time World Title challenger, has shared the ring with the likes of Christina Hammer, Ema Kozin and Marie Eve Dicaire, and Marshall says she is prepared for a hard night’s work in her first fight of 2021.

“If anything, this is a tougher fight than the original fight we had,” said Marhsall. “Maria is very experienced, tough and been in with some of the best in the world – Christina Hammer twice. I’m expecting a tough fight come Saturday.

“I’ve had a twelve-week camp, so I’ve prepared for everything. Whatever Maria brings I’m more than confident I’ve got the answer for. I found out about Femke Hermans being off on Saturday and I thought there was no way they’d get me a replacement opponent at such short notice. 

 “Luckily Matchroom pulled it out of the bag and got me an opponent. She’s had three times as many fights as me so I’m sure she knows all of the little tricks of the trade. She’ll probably never get a chance like this again so really it’s the last roll of the dice for her. She’s definitely going to come all guns blazing.”

Marshall vs. Lindberg is part of a big night of action, rising Welterweight star Conor Benn (17-0, 11 KOs) defends his WBA Continental Title against Samuel Vargas (31-6-2, 14 KOs) in the main event, Watford’s Shannon Courtenay (6-1, 3 KOs) faces Australia’s Ebanie Bridges  (5-0, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBA Bantamweight World Title, Glasgow Bantamweight Kash Farooq (14-1, 6 KOs) challenges Alexander Espinoza (20-2-2) for the WBC International Silver Title, Glasgow Heavyweight Nick Campbell makes his professional debut and Takeley prospect John ‘The Gentleman’ Hedges (1-0) looks to build on his pro debut win last October.

Savannah Marshall will make the first defence of her WBO Middleweight World Title against former World Champion Femke Hermans on Saturday April 10, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories.

Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Hannah Rankin in seven rounds to win the vacant WBO Title last October, the former amateur World Champion was a class above her Scottish rival from the opening bell and managed to go one better than her old foe Claressa Shields by ending the fight inside the distance.

Hermans (11-3, 4 KOs), another former opponent of Shields, took the American star the distance in a challenge for her WBC, WBA and IBF Middleweight crowns in December 2018, before falling short in a challenge for the IBF Super-Middleweight Title against Elin Cederroos four months later. 

She won the vacant WBO Super-Middleweight World Title by outpointing Nikki Adler on away territory in Germany back in May 2018, and will be hoping to cause another upset when she locks horns with Hartlepool’s Marshall. 

The 31-year-old from Londerzeel in Belgium picked up the vacant EBU European Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision against Russia’s Luiza Davydoza in December and her latest World Title challenge will be the first time that she has fought in the UK.

“I’m really happy and I can’t wait for fight night in three weeks’ time,” said Marshall. “I’m very aware of Femke Hermans, a very good fighter. She’s been in with the best, she’s a former WBO World Champion, so I’m sure she’s going to try and get her belt back.

“I know she’s no pushover and I’m looking forward to getting in there. For me, this is probably my toughest test to date. The reigning European Champion. She lost out on a close decision to the World Super-Middleweight Champion, so I know it’s going to be a tough fight. 

“I never go into a fight thinking I’m going to stop someone but I know if I land, whoever I land on, I will hurt them. I’m just looking forward to putting on a good display and showcasing my skills.”

Marshall vs. Hermans is part of a big night of action on April 10, rising Welterweight star Conor Benn (17-0, 11 KOs) defends his WBA Continental Title against Samuel Vargas (31-6-2, 14 KOs) in the main event, Watford’s Shannon Courtenay (6-1, 3 KOs) faces Australia’s Ebanie Bridges (5-0, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBA Bantamweight World Title, Glasgow Bantamweight Kash Farooq (14-1, 6 KOs) returns after his masterclass win over Angel Aviles and Takeley Super-Middleweight John ‘The Gentleman’ Hedges (1-0) looks to build on his pro debut win last October, with more fights to be added soon.

(Friday, March 5, 2021 – Flint, MI) Women’s superstar Claressa Shields furthered her claim as boxing’s “GWOAT” Friday night and became the unified WBC, WBO, IBF & WBA Super Junior Middleweight World Champion, by scoring a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision over Marie-Eve Dicaire of St-Eustache, Quebec, Canada, in the 10-round main event of the historic all-women’s “SUPERWOMEN: SHIELDS VS. DICAIRE event at the Dort Financial Center and live on pay-per-view in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan.

Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) also became the first boxer in the four-belt era to become an undisputed world champion in two weight divisions by virtue of her shutout victory (100-90 by all three judges) over now former champion Dicaire (17-1).

Uncharacteristically, the 25-year-old Shields turned counterpuncher early in this fight, to offset Dicaire’s attempts to bounce in and out of range. Relying on her reflexes to punish any attempt at aggression by Dicaire, Shields shut the Canadian down and then turned back to her customary forward aggression later in the bout.

Dicaire landed a quality southpaw left on Shields in round four, possibly her only significant blow of the fight, and Shields simply shook it off to no effect.

I can’t be mad about my performance,” said Shields after the bout. “She just kept elbowing and headbutting me. I tried for the knockout and I almost had it a couple times, but we’ve got two minutes and the ref not breaking it up when she’s holding me and elbowing me. I’m happy but I still wanted the knockout. I just didn’t have enough time. At the end of the day, I am the new undisputed champ at 154 and the first boxer to be undisputed champ twice.”

Shields said she was happy to have accomplished her latest piece of history in front of her family and friends in Flint, even if the pandemic meant a lot fewer fans in attendance.

“With Covid, we couldn’t have a full capacity. There are 300 here and that’s the capacity of the day, so we have a full house. We couldn’t have full capacity, but I know if we could have, we would have had 6000 people in here. I’m happy to have been able to do it here (in Flint). I started boxing here at Berston Fieldhouse at 11 years old. Never in a million years did I think I’d be on pay-per-view and fighting for an undisputed title and be one of the biggest stars in boxing. I just wanted to win an Olympic Gold medal. God has given me two Olympic medals. I have 12 championship belts now. It doesn’t feel real to say undisputed twice.”

When asked about two of her remaining rivals in boxing, fellow superstar Katie Taylor of Ireland and her one-time conqueror in the amateurs, Savannah Marshall of the UK, Shields brimmed with confidence.

“Katie Taylor is not the worry. 147 pounds is. They’d have to pay me a lot to lose my butt and go down to 147. At the end of the day, I’m a woman. I don’t have big breasts, but I got a nice butt, so come with that dough and I’ll be there. At least a million and I’ll be there.

“Savannah Marshall can’t f* with me. Let’s keep it real. Savannah Marshall, you won a lucky decision when we were kids. Also London was hosting the Olympics. If you want to gloat about beating me 14 points to 8… come on now. And then I went on to become world champion in three different division and she broke. She knows she cannot and will not ever be able to f* with me. She can come to America. I will go to the UK. We can go to Mexico. We can go anywhere, and I will f*** her up. She knows that. She’s scared of me. Savannah Marshall can get it. Tell Eddie Hearn, he came that whack-ass 250K. Tell him to come with 500K… 750K if he wants me to go to the UK and smoke his girl. Pay me.”

Dicaire continued her graciousness in post-fight questioning and promised not to let the loss dampen her future in the sport.

“I think Claressa did a good job tonight,” said Dicaire. “Tonight, she was the best. Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. Tonight, I learned. I think this is just going to allow me to grow stronger. I don’t box to protect my record or keep my record at 0 losses. I box to beat champions. Tonight, I had the chance to fight the real champion. She won this time but count on me to go back to the gym and work hard and be world champion again for sure.

Shields, who says her much-publicized MMA debut will likely be in Las Vegas in June, threw 409 punches in the fight and landed 128 including 34.9% of her power punches. Dicaire threw 263 punches in return but landed just 31.

“Flint Michigan got the baddest boxer in the world!” said Shields to her fans. “We two-time undisputed. Pacquiao who? Canelo who? When someone else does what I did let me know.”

In the night’s co-main event, Houston’s undefeated Danielle Perkins (3-0, 1 KO) showed marked improvement and had a much easier time in her rematch against Georgia’s Monika “Lay Em Down” Harrison (2-2, 1 KO), scoring a dominant eight-round unanimous decision while picking up the WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship in the process.

The former amateur world champion Perkins used every bit of her superior athleticism, 6’ height and 72-inch reach to move around the ring and keep the 5’ 10” Harrison at bay with a punishing southpaw right jab and a steady diet of strong left hands to the head and body. At times, Referee Michael Griffin appeared to be considering a stoppage, but the durable Harrison kept coming forward and swinging for the fences for all eight rounds, despite the firepower coming her way.

The scores were 80-72 from all three judges.

“I apologize for not getting a knockout. I swear next time I’ll come back and give it to you, Flint,” said Perkins, post-fight. “Monika made some adjustments this time. I hit her with some solid hammers and that girl stayed on her feet so kudos to her.”

Perkins threw 353 punches in the fight and landed 121 including 40.9% of her power shots. Harrison threw 273 shots, but only found a home for 21 of them.

“I want to be the undisputed female heavyweight champion of the world,” continued Perkins. “I want to be the best you’ve ever seen.”

Undefeated bantamweight Jamie “The Miracle” Mitchell (6-0-2, 43 KOs) of Pacific Grove, California, looked impressive in battering and stopping more-experienced veteran Noemi “La Rebelde / No-No” Bosques (12-16-3, 2 KOs) in five one-sided rounds.

With the two-fisted punishment from Mitchell steadily increasing with every passing round, Referee Gerard White decided the stumbling and retreating Bosques had had enough and mercifully waved the fight off at 1:49 of the fifth.

“I was just zoned out. I was doing whatever fit the moment,” said Mitchell, post-fight. “That’s how I got the knockout. Thanks to my coaches and thanks to Claressa Shields for putting me on this card. This is an unforgettable moment for women.”

Prior to scoring the technical knockout, Mitchell landed 48% (80/167) of her power punches, and 40% (94/234) of her total punches. Noemi Bosques only landed 24 of 153 punches.

“I like to pick on myself to do better,” said Mitchell of her performance. “There were certain things I wanted to do, but they don’t call this girl a gatekeeper for nothing. I wish I had gotten her out of there quicker and been crisper with my jab. She was a bit tricky.”

In the opening bout of the broadcast, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Marlen Esparza (9-1, 1 KO) stayed busy ahead of her scheduled challenge of WBC Flyweight Champion Ibeth Zamora in April with a dominant six-round unanimous decision over Canada’s Shelly Barnett (now 4-4-2, 2 KO).

Barnett tried to be aggressive, but Esparza’s skills allowed her to pot shot her bigger opponent, nearly at will, especially as the fight wore on. “We knew she was tough and bigger,” said Esparza. “I wanted someone with more weight because I never fight above 112 lbs. and I think I handled it well. I’m happy about the way everything played out. I’m happy to have been part of this event and to be working with Claressa again.”

Esparza threw 352 punches in the fight, landing 126, including 26 body shots and 38.4% of her power shots. Barnett threw 291 and landed 49. The judges’ scores were 60-54, 6-53 x 2.

On the free pre-show portion of the pay-per-view, middleweight Timur Kerefov stayed undefeated (11-0, 6 KOs) with a TKO 3 over Saint Petersburg, Florida veteran Manny Woods (now 16-11-1, 6 KOs). Woods left eye couldn’t hold up under the onslaught of punches from the Russian former amateur star. The time was 1:06. Kerefov, Detroit via Shalushka, Russia and now training at Kronk Gym, threw 190 punches in the abbreviated encounter, landing 80, including 24 body shots. Woods threw 122 and landed just 17.

SUPERWOMEN: SHIELDS VS. DICAIRE was presented by Salita Promotions in association with Groupe Yvon Michel, dedicated to this year’s International Women’s Day (Monday, March 8, 2021) and proudly sponsored by online gambling titans Betonline.net and plant-based online marketplace Vejii.

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About International Women’s Day
The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909. In 1910, Europe established a Women’s Day to honour the movement for women’s rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women. After World War II, March 8 started to be celebrated in a number of countries. In 1975, during the International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating March 8 as International Women’s Day. In 1995 the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments, focused on 12 critical areas of concern; and the inclusion of Goal 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This year’s theme of #ChooseToChallenge looks to call out gender bias and inequity and celebrate women’s achievements.

For more information, please visit internationalwomensday.com.

About Salita Promotions
Salita Promotions was founded in 2010 by Dmitriy Salita, a professional boxer and world-title challenger who saw the need for a promotional entity to feature boxing’s best young prospects and established contenders in North America and around the world. Viewers watching fighters on worldwide television networks including Showtime, HBO, ESPN, Spike TV, Universal Sports Network, UFC Fight Pass, DAZN, ESPN+ and MSG have enjoyed Salita Promotions fight action in recent years. We pride ourselves on offering our fighters opportunities inside and outside the ring. Salita Promotions looks forward to continuing to grow and serve the needs of fight fans around the globe.

Check the Salita Promotions YouTube Channel for regular video updates of boxing’s greatest legends, its best fighters, toughest contenders and brightest prospects in action.

Oleksandr Usyk won a tough and hard fought 12-round unanimous decision over Derek Chisora in a heavyweught at the SSE Arena in London

After a fast start by Chiora where he threw a lot of punches over the first half of the fight, Usyk started to find his mark, especially in round seven, where he landed combinations that started to make Chisora go back. The two waged a tough battle down the stretch, but it was Usyk who was able to settle the pace down and pick away at a tiring Chisora and come home with the 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 victory.

Usuk, 217.4 lbs of Ukraine is 18-0. Chisora, 255.8 lbs is 32-10.

“I was very happy to be back in the ring,” Usyk told Matchroom afterwards. “I haven’t fought for more than a year. It was a huge pleasure for me. You saw my smile when I went into the ring. I really want to thank god for this victory. Derek has big power, he has strong punches but I was prepared for it.

“I didn’t think about his boxing IQ. All I was thinking about was the boxing and what I wanted to do. I am very thankful for Derek giving me this opportunity. I am very thankful to this family and his team. I am happy. He is a good man. Anthony (Joshua), how are you? I am coming for you.”

Usyk told Sky Sports: “Chisora a big guy, a hard guy. I was expecting a fight like that, I was expecting a tougher fight. My plan is to go to my home, maximum time with my family. Training and improving myself. Not just World Champion, the Undisputed World Champion [is my aim].”

A disappointed Chisora reacted to defeat: “I feel great. I was pushing the pace. I’m just disappointed with the result, gutted. To everybody who can’t make it [to the fight], I’m gutted for everybody. In the Heavyweight game, you have to fight not box. I gave a couple of rounds away.”

Kambosos Jr. Decisions Selby in Title Eliminator

George Kambosos Jr. won a 12-round split decision over former featherweight champion Lee Selby in an IBF Lightweight Title Elimination bout.

Kambosos, 134.9 lbs of Australia won by scores of 118-110 and 116-112, while Selby won a card 115-114.

Kambosos is now 19-0. Selby, 134.9 lbs of Wales is 28-3.

“I can’t get this smile off my face,” said Kambosos Jr. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I dug deep and I won a lot of them rounds. The big shots landed and I thought he was hurt a few times. That’s a former World Champion. The guy is still a very respected fighter. It was a great win. That’s two former World Champions in their backyards. I’m a road warrior. I’m a proud Aussie. I knew I won the fight. The whole time people thought I was being arrogant. I was never arrogant to him. It’s just confidence and self belief. I’m a young hungry lion. I was never arrogant to him. I respect him. 

“I knew the job I would do. I’m a confident fighter and I back my ability. I thought I hurt him a few times and I thought he nearly went. He’s an experienced guy and he beat Ricky Burns in his last fight. I’m the young hungry guy coming up. That was a great win. That’s another twelve rounds in my bank. The body shots busted him up. The right hand to the body, the stiff jab to the body. I was very composed. I feel like I’m in my prime. There’s so much more work to do. I’m coming for the Unified Lightweight World Title against Teofimo Lopez. Two young hungry fighters!”

Marshall Stops Rankin in 7 To win Middleweight Title

Savannah Marshall won the WBO Middleweight title with a 7th round stoppage over Hannah Rankin

In round seven, Rankin took a knee after being battered around the whole ring, and the bout was stopped at 1:59.

Marshall, 159.4 lbs of Hardspool, UK is 9-0 with seven knockouts. Rankin, 158 .4 of Glasgow, SCO is 9-5.

“I’m absolutely over the moon,” Marshall told Matchroom. “Fair play to Hannah. She’s an amazing fighter with big heart and I’ve got loads of respect for her. I’m just thrilled to bits. I knew I was good enough. I’ve always known I was good enough. The chances have just never been there for me. Thank god it came tonight. Me and Hannah sold that fight, we really sold that fight. I don’t know what it was like for her but there was no real bad blood there for me. 

“With Peter testing positive two weeks ago, I thought that was just typical me! I just had to ride the wave. I think England has got the best female professional boxers. COVID was a blessing because it’s brought them all out. I’m the first female boxer to be an amateur World Champion and a professional World Champion. I beat the men. I beat the men to it. It’s just a dream. 

“The pool isn’t that big at the higher weights. I’d like to go up to Super-Middleweight. I’m not really interested in Super-Welter. I think my power stays at Middle. I’ve just battered Claressa Shields’ mate. I’ve just battered her best mate. I’m sure she said Hannah was going to stop me. So what does that say about her boxing IQ. She couldn’t get Rankin out of there. Hannah is a brave fighter. Claressa couldn’t do that. Me against Shields is the biggest fight in women’s boxing. Let’s get it on. I want a piece of it.”

McCarthy Decisions Laggoune to Win European Cruiserweight Title

Tommy McCarthy won the European Cruiserweight Title with a 12-round majority decision over Bilal Laggoune.

McCarthy, 199.8 lbs of Belfast, NI won by scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 114-114 to raise his mark to 17-2. Laggoune, 199.8 lbs of Belgium is 25-2-2.

“I’m over the moon,” McCarthy told Matchroom. “It’s taken a lifetime of work to get to this point. This is just the beginning for me. I want bigger and better things. I’m so happy and proud of myself. I’m proud of my team. I can’t even remember what the scores were to be honest, but as long as they had me winning, that’s all that matters. It’s surreal. I thought I was going to start balling my eyes out. I couldn’t go back home and have everyone slagging me for being a cry baby! I held it together and I’m still holding it together! I’m emotional because this has been a long time coming. 

“I’ve been knocking on the door for a long time. Now it’s all starting to come into play. I’d like to shout out my team; Mark Dunlop, Pete Taylor and everyone else for making this possible. Next year I would love to fight Mairis Briedis. He’s the number one Cruiserweight in the world, and I want to be number one.He is the guy I want, but I’d take any one of them to be honest. Anyone who has a belt, big Mac is onto you! I know my family are proud. I’m looking forward to getting home to them in the morning. Hopefully they will spoil me, I don’t want to do any housework for the next two weeks!

“I should probably thank Richard Riakporhe for giving me the kick up the ass that I needed. It’s never happening again (losing). I’m here now. I’m the champion of Europe. The world is my oyster. Peter has moulded me into the boxer that I knew I always could be. This is the one thing that I know I can do very well. I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me doing it. Shout out to everybody in West Belfast and shout out to everyone in Greater Belfast.”

Ramla Ali won her pro debut with a six-round decision over Eva Hubmeyer in a super bantamweight fight.

Ali, 124.9 lbs of Bethnel Green won by a 60-54 score and is 1-0. Hubmeyer, 128.8 lbs of Germany is 1-1.

“I’m not going to say I was crap, but I was a bit disappointed with how I performed tonight,” Ali told Matchroom afterwards. “I allowed her, being a shorter opponent, to get into range way too much. I think it was just the nerves kicking in with it being my professional debut. I think I let all of that get to me and I allowed her to get into range. I should have kept her long. I think that’s what I’m most disappointed with. 

“When you come from the amateurs and you go into international competitions, you don’t get a say in who you’re going to compete with. You could have someone that is rushing at you like a bulldog and you just have to keep them away as much as possible. I feel like my years in the amateurs prepared me for that. The majority of the time I knew how to keep her away. My experience came into play there for sure. 

“It felt amazing when I connected with her face with the smaller gloves. When it lands on your face it isn’t nice! You have to take some to give some. The majority of the time you don’t really feel it because of all of the adrenaline that is rushing through you. It’s a huge difference to the amateurs but I’m learning to appreciate it.

“I think I’ve been promised an opportunity on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev unless things chance, so I’m really hoping to have another fight this year. The last fight I had was in February. It has been a long time out. They always say you get quite rusty when you come back in. I’m hoping to improve on tonight’s performance in December for sure. I hope I was entertaining. I hope people enjoyed watching me tonight.”

Amy Timlin and Carky Skelly battled to a 10-round draw in a super bantamweight contest.

Timlin won a scorecard 96-95; Skelly 97-96 and 95-95.

Timlin, 120.8 lbs of Southam is 4-0-1. Skelly, 119.8 lbs of Liverpool is 3-0-1.

“It was heartbreaking because I’ve trained so hard for it,” Timlin told Sky Sports afterwards. “You can’t really fault the result because it was a close fight, and I thought I won some rounds and she won some rounds. I think it was a fair decision. I would love to do that fight again. I think styles make fights. That was a really good fight and I’d love to do the rematch. It could have gone either way.”

“It’s frustrating,” Skelly told Sky Sports afterwards. “It was quite close early on but I thought I came on stronger at the end. It’s hard to say. I’ll have to watch it back and see what I think. I thought I done enough. Just being here tonight was a boss opportunity for the both of us. Hopefully we get to do it again and we’ll get it decided in the next one. 100% I’d do it again.”

There is no love lost between Savannah Marshall and Hannah Rankin, which is just as well because the fists are about to fly, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all of its nine markets including the U.S.

Marshall and Rankin’s battle of Britain is more than a spat between two rivals, it’s a shoot-out at The SSE Arena Wembley for the vacant WBO World Middleweight Title.

The 29 and 30-year-olds clash on the undercard of one of the biggest Heavyweight fights of the year where ex-undisputed World Cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk puts his unbeaten record on the line against Britain’s Derek Chisora.

Marshall vs. Rankin looks a beauty, as the English girl with medal after medal on the amateur scene meets the battle-hardened Scot who has been in the trenches four times in World Title scraps.

“It’s a perfect match-up,” said Rankin, who is confident of ending the unbeaten record of her opponent she has already indulged in some social media jabs with. “It’s been on the cards for some time and I think people are genuinely excited by a proper 50-50 fight. I think me and Sav will be a real barnstormer and people know that and that’s why there was such a sense of anticipation.

“After I lost my World Title, Savannah thought it was appropriate to go on social media and start saying I needed the opportunity to fight her, and it would be nice for her to give me that opportunity. I’ve made all of my own opportunities in this sport. I became World Champion off my own back. Me and my team did it ourselves. 

“Firstly, that’s disrespectful. Also, I’m a former World Champion. Exactly what has she done? Nothing in the professional game. When we were in the bubble I expected her to say something to me, but she said nothing. You can’t be a keyboard warrior and then say nothing when you’re face to face with people. It’s just not appropriate, and it’s disrespectful.”

Rankin believes the contest will eclipse the terrific tussle between new-kid-on-the-block Terri Harper and Marshall’s old Olympic team-mate Natasha Jonas for the WBC and IBO world Super-Featherweight belts in August.

“This is the first big fight at one of the higher weights in the UK, I don’t think there’s been a World Championship bout above Super-Lightweight before,” said the Glasgow star.

“There’s not been anything like this before, we’ve been on a collision course for a while, we can both bang and there are a lot of things that can happen in this fight. I’ve been buzzing for this and think boxing fans are excited too.”

Marshall vs. Rankin is part of a huge night of boxing as pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) faces his first real Heavyweight test in Derek Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs),  Lee Selby (28-2, 9 KOs) and George Kambosos Jr (18-0, 10 KOs) meet in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Lightweight World Title, Belfast’s Tommy McCarthy (16-2, 8 KOs) clashes with Belgium’s Bilal Laggoune (25-1-2, 14 KOs) for the vacant European Cruiserweight Title, Amy Timlin (4-0) faces off with Carly Skelly (3-0) for the vacant Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight Title and Ramla Ali makes her professional debut against Eva Hubmeyer (1-0, 1 KO). 

Savannah Marshall and Hannah Rankin will contest the vacant WBO Middleweight World Title on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora on Saturday October 31, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the US.

The pair were scheduled to meet on the Lewis Ritson vs. Miguel Vazquez show in Peterborough on Saturday October 17 but Marshall’s trainer Peter Fury returned a positive COVID-19 test, resulting in the fight being postponed in line with the British Boxing Board of Control rules. 

“Honestly it has been a dream to have this fight rescheduled so quickly,” said Marshall. “After the past week I’ve just been overjoyed with the news. I couldn’t have asked for a better or bigger platform than on the Usyk vs. Chisora bill. 

“It was frustrating that the fight fell through, but it’s one of those things. There was nothing I could have done about it. Peter is okay which is the main thing.

“My training won’t change and will just be like any other training routine 10 days out from a fight. Nothing will change. It hasn’t got more personal for me, as me and Rankin are just two girls that can’t wait for a dust up with each other.”

“It is great that the fight has been rescheduled so soon, thank you to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom for sorting it all out,” said Rankin. “Nothing changes for me. I will be crowned WBO Middleweight World Champion on October 31.”

Adam Smith, Head of Boxing Development at Sky Sports, said: “It’s fantastic news that Savannah Marshall’s World Title fight with Hannah Rankin has been swiftly rescheduled for the Usyk-Chisora bill, which is fast becoming an unmissable night of action.

“Women’s boxing has never been stronger, with Ellie Scotney showcasing her talent last weekend, and now we can look forward to an all-British battle between Marshall and Rankin, with the WBO Middleweight belt at stake. Savannah, a former Sky Scholar, has those polished amateur skills but Rankin has greater professional experience – it’s an enthralling encounter.

“Lee Selby is also targeting another World Title shot on a stacked undercard, which also features Tommy McCarthy’s European Title fight, before Usyk and Chisora take centre stage, in what promises to be a Heavyweight classic!”

Marshall vs. Rankin is part of a huge night of boxing as pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) faces his first real Heavyweight test in Derek Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs), Lee Selby (28-2, 9 KOs) and George Kambosos Jr (18-0, 10 KOs) square off in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Lightweight World Title, Heavyweight fan favourite Dave Allen (18-5-2, 15 KOs) returns to action, Belfast’s Tommy McCarthy (16-2, 8 KOs) meets Belgium’s Bilal Laggoune (25-1-2, 14 KOs) for the vacant European Cruiserweight Title and Amy Timlin (4-0) faces off with Carly Skelly (3-0) for the vacant Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight Title.

Unfortunately Savannah Marshall’s trainer Peter Fury has tested positive for COVID-19.

Saturday’s WBO World Middleweight Title fight is off the card.

All other fighters and teams tested negative. 

The fight will be rescheduled in due course and our best wishes are with Peter. 

Hannah Rankin has warned Savannah Marshall that she is in for a rude awakening if she is overlooking their WBO Middleweight World Title clash with one eye on a future showdown with her old amateur foe Claressa Shields.

Hartlepool’s Marshall (8-0, 6 KOs) remains the only fighter to have inflicted a ring defeat on three-division World Champion Shields. ‘The Silent Assassin’ outpointed America’s ‘T-Rex’ in China en route to cementing herself as Britain’s first ever female amateur World Champion in 2012.

Talk of a ‘rematch’ between the rivals has been building ever since Marshall signed promotional terms with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in August last year, but Rankin – who lost to Shields in 2018 – is planning on ripping up the script by taking the WBO crown back to Glasgow with her. 

 “All we ever hear about is that fight,” said Rankin. “The amateur circuit is nothing like the professional ranks. Claressa has gone on to do amazing things. She’s one of the best female fighters we are going to see in this generation. To just talk about an amateur win over her is nothing as far as I’m concerned.

“If she’s concentrating on that fight and she’s looking past me then she’s in for a huge shock. She’s not getting past me on October 17^th. That World Title is coming home with me and I don’t know where she’s going to go from there.” 

Rankin (9-4, 2 KOs), a former IBO Super-Welterweight World Champion, has the edge in experience over Marshall in the pro ranks, and the 30-year-old believes her World Championship pedigree will be the difference when they clash in Peterborough this Saturday. 

“I’m not going to try something new,” added Rankin. “I’ve been there before and I know how my body is going to feel. I know how I react at championship distance as a Middleweight fighter. It’s going to be a bit of a disadvantage for her. She’s never made Middleweight, so she’s got to come down to make that weight first of all on the scales.

“I’m sure she will, her and Peter Fury are very professional. It’s how she’s going to feel when she makes that weight, we’re in the ring and we’re heading into the later rounds. How is her body going to hold up to that championship distance? 

“She’s not had much experience fighting anyone of a high level really. She hasn’t fought anyone actually at her weight. A lot of the girls have stepped up to fight her at her weight. This is going to be the first time she’s faced someone who’s had a full camp. I’m coming to win and I’m going home with that belt. It’s going to be a brand-new experience for her.”

Marshall vs. Rankin is part of a huge night of boxing at the East of England Arena in Peterborough, Geordie favourite Lewis Ritson (20-1, 12 KOs) takes on former long-reigning World Champion Miguel Vazquez (42-9, 16 KOs), 2016 Rio Olympian Qais Ashfaq (8-0, 3 KOs) meets Salford’s Marc Leach (14-1-1, 3 KOs) in a Final Eliminator for the British Super-Bantamweight Title, Joe ‘Benwell Bomber’ Laws (9-0, 5 KOs) takes on Norwich’s Rylan Charlton (5-0-1, 2 KOs) over six rounds at Super-Lightweight, West Rainton’s Thomas Patrick Ward (29-0, 4 KOs) fights Thomas Essomba  (10-6, 4 KOs) over ten rounds at Super-Bantamweight and Catford’s Ellie Scotney makes her professional debut against Bec Connolly (3-7) at Featherweight.

Vasyl Lomachenko scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Luke Campbell to retain the WBA and WBO and capture the WBC Lightweights at a sold out 02 Arena in London.

Lomachenko hurt Campbell at the enc of round five when he landed a hard left to head that was followed by a perfect left to the body.

In round 11, Lomachenko landed a flurry of punches that was punctuated by a jab that sent Campbell the canvas. Lomachenko sealed the fight when he hurt Campbell in the final round with his patented quick shots that forced Campbell to hold on and eventually throw Lomachenko to be able to survive the round.

Lomachenko of Ukraine won by scores 119-108 twice and 118-109 and is now 14-1. Campbell is 20-3.

Lomachenko outlanded Campbell 207-131.

After a hard-fought battle, this is what Lomachenko, Campbell and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum had to say.

Lomachenko

“Of course I’m happy. I want to say thank you to {everyone} who came to support us. I want to thank everyone who organized this fight. And, of course, I’m happy. Next… {I want to fight for the} IBF {title}. That is my title.”

“In the UK, the fans are the best fans in the world. Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Of course, I want to fight {for the IBF title}, but it depends on Bob Arum.”

Arum

“Obviously, we’re looking to win the fourth belt to unify the title. But Loma and {manager} Egis {Klimas} have told me they can’t wait to come back to the UK to fight here again.The English fight fans are the best fans in the world.”

“Luke Campbell didn’t disgrace himself. He fought a hell of a fight. He’s a hell of a fighter. Big, big heart, and Luke will be back.”

“Loma is up there with Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao. He belongs with those fighters.”

“Listen, it doesn’t matter. He will fight anyone at featherweight, super featherweight or lightweight. Only the best. He’s a special, special fighter.”

Luke Campbell

“He just beat me, so he’s very good. He’s a special fighter and we all knew he was a special fighter. This is boxing and we train to win. Obviously, I’m disappointed in myself for not getting the victory.

Former world champion Alexander Povetkin won a 12-round unanimous decision over Hughie Fury in a heavyweight bout.

Povetkin was able to turn up a very dull fight in the 2nd half of the contest.

In round nine, Fury began to bleed from the left eye.

Povetkin of Russia won by scores of 117-111 on all cards and is now 35-2. Fury of Manchester, Eng is 23-3.

Julio Cesar Martinez seemingly won the WBC lyweight title with a shocking 3rd round stoppage over reigning champion Charlie Edwards, but after several minutes the bout was overturned after Martinez landed a late-punch

Martinez landed about 10 unanswered blows that sent Edwards to the canvas. Martinez got in one more hard body shot while Edwards was on the canvas, but the referee ruled a knockdown and the bout was stopped at 1:43.

The bout was ruled a no-contest with an immediate rematch

Martinez of Mexico is 14-1.. Edwards is 15-1.

2016 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Joshua Buatsi stopped Ryan Ford in round seven of a scheduled 10-round light heavyeight bout.

Buatsi hurt Ford in round seven with a clipping left hook. He followed that up with a flurry that was culminated by a body punch that sent Ford down for the count at 1:07.

Buatsi is now 12-0 with 10 knockouts. Ford of Edmonton, CAN is 16-5.

2016 Olympian Joe Cordina won a 12-round unanimous decision over Gavin Gwynne in a British Lightweight Title bout featuring undefeated fighters.

Cordina of Cardiff, Wales won by scores of 116-110 twice and 116-111 and is now 10-0. Gwynne is 11-1.

In a battle of undefeated super middleweights, Savannah Marshall stopped Daniele Bastieri in round five of their scheduled eight-round bout.

Marshall dominated, and in round five she landed a big right hand that dropped Bastieri at the end of the round five. Bastieri, bloodied, got to her feet the bout was stopped at 2:00.

Marshall is now 7-0 with five knockouts. Bastieri of Brazil is 2-1.

Savannah Marshall is convinced that she would make it two wins from two fights against Claressa Shields if the former amateur rivals were to meet again in the professional ranks.

Undefeated Hartlepool sensation Marshall, trained by Peter Fury, makes her highly-anticipated Matchroom Boxing debut this Saturday when she takes on Brazil’s Daniele Basteri over eight rounds in a Super-Middleweight contest, live on Sky Sports Box Office. 

The 28-year-old ‘Silent Assassin’ remains the only boxer to have inflicted a ring defeat on undisputed Middleweight World Champion Shields. Marshall outpointed the US golden girl in China on route to cementing herself as Britain’s first ever female amateur World Champion in 2012. 

She was last seen demolishing tough Bulgarian Borislava Goranova in one round at Victoria Warehouse in May and believes her link up with Eddie Hearn’s promotional outfit will provide her with the perfect platform to secure a mega fight will long-term rival Shields. 

“I’ve been pro now for just gone two years and it has been quite slow in the sense that I haven’t moved forward as quickly as I would have hoped,” admitted Marshall. “Matchroom are the biggest promotional company in the game, they have shows all the time so for that reason the fights are there for me. 
 
“I’m in this sport to become a World Champion. I’m not the type of person to do something half-heartedly. I’ve been boxing since I was 11 years old and if I didn’t feel like I was at world level then there would be no point in me being here.

“Claressa is the undisputed Middleweight Champion so in that aspect she is ahead of me. I believe that fight will happen soon and that I will beat her again, like I did as an amateur. I think I’m twice the fighter now than I was when we last fought, so it makes no difference to me where the fight takes place, I’ll beat her again.
 
“I had almost 100 amateur bouts and I’ve come up against all sizes and styles of opponents. I’ve boxed all over the world so there’s not that many styles I haven’t come across. I just want to show the world what I am capable of and what I can do. You can expect to see a bit of everything from me on Saturday, I will win in good fashion.”

Marshall vs. Basteri features on a huge night of boxing in the Capital. At the top of the bill, Olympic Champions Vasiliy Lomachenko (13-1, 10 KOs) and Luke Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs) will clash for the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine Lightweight World titles, Manchester Heavyweight Hughie Fury (23-2, 13 KOs) takes on former WBA World Champion Alexander Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs), WBC Flyweight ruler Charlie Edwards (15-1, 6 KOs) makes the second defence of his crown against Mandatory Challenger Julio Cesar Martinez (14-1, 11 KOs), Joe Cordina (9-0, 7 KOs) defends his British and Commonwealth Lightweight titles against Gavin Gwynne (11-0, 1 KO) in a mouth-watering battle of Wales, rising Light-Heavy star Joshua Buatsi (11-0, 9 KOs) defends his WBA International title against Canada’s Ryan Ford (16-4, 11 KOs), James Tennyson (24-3, 20 KOs) and Atif Shafiq (21-2, 5 KOs) meet for the vacant WBA International Lightweight title, Sheffield amateur standout Dalton Smith (2-0, 1 KO) takes part in his first six round contest and Hull Super-Featherweight prospect Connor Coghill (5-0) lands a dream slot on his former manager’s (Campbell) undercard. 

Savannah Marshall, Britain’s first ever female amateur World Champion, has signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

The undefeated Hartlepool sensation, trained by Peter Fury, has cruised to six straight wins since announcing herself in the professional ranks on the blockbuster Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor bill at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 2017.

The 28-year-old ‘Silent Assassin’ remains the only boxer to have inflicted a ring defeat on undisputed Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields. Marshall outpointed the US golden girl in China on route to cementing herself as Britain’s first ever female amateur World Champion in 2012.

She was last seen demolishing tough Bulgarian Borislava Goranova in one round at Victoria Warehouse in May and believes her link up with Matchroom Boxing will provide her with the perfect platform to secure a mega fight will long-term rival Shields.

“I couldn’t be happier to announce I’m teaming up with Matchroom Boxing and Sky Sports, alongside my team mate Hughie Fury and many other great fighters,” said Marshall. “I am blessed to be back working with Adam Smith who mentored me though my achievements in Team GB. I’d like to thank my coach Peter Fury, Mick Hennessy, Eddie Hearn not forgetting MTK for making this dream a reality. With this platform I aim to show the boxing World another level to female boxing.”

“I’m delighted to welcome Savannah to the team, it’s another great signing,” said Eddie Hearn. “I watched Savannah in the GB squad where she was an exceptional amateur winning Gold in the first ever Women’s World Championships and also represented GB in the 2012 Olympic Games. As a pro she has been faultless and is almost ready to take her shot at a World title. There are some great fights out there for her, particularly Claressa Shields, who she defeated as an amateur. Claressa has been a driving force behind the women’s game and a rematch between the two would be great to watch.”

Adam Smith, Head of Sky Sports Boxing, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the next stage of Savannah Marshall’s exciting career will be shown on Sky Sports. I know Savannah well, she was a Sky Sports Scholar for four years, and she’s a fantastic talent.

“Savannah now has a perfect platform to showcase her skills with Sky Sports and Matchroom Boxing. Eddie has already guided Katie Taylor to undisputed World title glory – and now we’ll also be following Savannah’s rise towards a World title fight.”

London, UK (26 May 2019) Former World Heavyweight title challenger Hughie Fury halted the previously undefeated Chris Norrad inside two rounds at the Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, last night to put himself back on track towards a world title shot.

The Manchester star looked in sensational shape in his first fight back since his loss to Kubrat Pulev last October and knew that he had to put on a solid performance for the fans and viewers on Channel 5.

Fury took command from the start and was the aggressor as he landed with sharp jabs and unloaded with hard power punches to Norrad’s head and body, midway in the first round he landed with a hard right to the back of Noarrad’s head that hurt the Canadian.

In the second, Fury was on the front foot again and asserted his power and halfway through the round two big right hands dropped Norrad, up at the referees count of nine he was still hurt and it was waved off at 1:51.

Afterwards, Fury thanked his team of father and trainer Peter and renown strength and conditioner Kerry Kayes for transforming his diet and training, he said “I felt a lot strong and a lot fitter and I’m ready now to fight anyone. All the experience I’ve had including the losses is all experience, I’m young and making me the final article for the future.”

On the undercard, female sensation Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall demolished Borislava Goranova – who had not been stopped in nearly seven years – in the first round with a hard left hook to the body that flattened the Bulgarian.  The WBA Intercontinental Super-Middleweight Champion from Hartlepool continues to close in on a mega-showdown against undisputed World Champion Claressa Shields.

In his first fight in the UK in for five and half years, exciting super-featherweight title contender Alex Dilmaghani became the first man to stop the tough Czech Martin Parlagi in the eighth round.  Dilmaghani credited his time in the hard gyms of Mexico that have turned him into a pressure fighter and he’ll now look to drop down to featherweight and face one of the leading domestic names.

Standout amateur and pro-debutant Michael Hennessy Jr. made a great start to his career when he outpointed 33-fight veteran Adam Grabiec.  The Seven Oaks hot prospect – son of promoter Mick Hennessy – passed the traditional four rounds entry for a pro debut and opted for the harder six-rounds.

FULL FIGHT CARD RESULTS 

10 x 3 International Heavyweight Contest

Hughie Fury WKO2 (Time 1:51) Chris Norrad

10 x 3 International Super Featherweight Contest

Alex Dilmaghani WTKO8 (Time 0:44) Martin Parlagi

6 x 2 International Super Middleweight Contest

Savannah Marshall WKO1 (Time 1:11) Borislava Goranova

6×3 Middleweight Contest

Michael Hennessy Jr WPTS6 (60-55) Adam Grabiec

6×3 Featherweight Contest

Marcel Braithwaite WPTS6 (60-54) Jake Pollard

6×3 Super Lightweight Contest

Kane Gardner LPTS4 (37-38) Des Newton

4×3 Welterweight Contest

Jake James WTD3 (30-27) Lee Hallett
Referee halts fight on doctors advice in 3rd round after Hallett cut above left eye in 2nd from a head clash 

4×3 Welterweight Contest

Connor Lynch WPTS4 (40-36) Dylan Draper

London, UK (15 May 2019) The 27 year old ‘Silent Assassin’ remains the only boxer to have inflicted a ring defeat on US golden girl Claressa Shields – current custodian of all four major world middleweight belts – in the dual Olympic champion’s 87 bout career.

Miss Marshall mastered the Michigan maestro by 14-8 on the computer in the second series of bouts in Quihuangdao, China, en route to cementing her status as Britain’s first ever female world amateur champion in 2012.

And shy girl Savannah is adamant that she will repeat the trick when the pair inevitably collide for a far bigger bounty in the paid brigade.

‘So far, I’m the only one in the world who knows the secret to beating her. Obviously, I’m not going to disclose what it is,’ states the softly-spoken north-easterner who also bagged silver and bronze gongs at the World meets in Barbados (2010) and Kazakhstan (2016).

‘It was under the old scoring system, a point for a (connecting) punch, and I beat her very clearly. Claressa has offered many different recollections of the fight. Whatever. I beat her. We’ve both improved considerably since.

‘She went on to win double Olympic gold (London 2012 and Rio 2016) and I didn’t even medal so I know I’ll enter a big underdog but, if and when the rematch happens, I know I can win again. I’m very confident in my ability. I don’t need anyone else to tell me what I’m capable of, or not. I know myself.’

The 5ft 11 1/2in Durham dynamo first laced up at 12 simply to keep fit but, in addition to her hat-trick of World Championship medals, she topped the rostrum at the 2010 European Unions and 2014 Commonwealth Games and lifted a barrow load of medals at prestigious multi-nation meets during an eight year stint on the Team GB set up in Sheffield. A dual Olympian, she concluded her amateur life with a mightily impressive 103-15 CV.

And since announcing herself to the profession with a classy four round decision win on the Mayweather-McGregor mega match in Las Vegas in August 2017, meek Marshall has racked up five straight wins and bagged the WBA Inter-Continental strap last October with a polished 10 round pummelling of Argentina’s previously undefeated Yanina Orozco in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Stylish and savage in equal measure, three of her victims failed to make it past round two.

‘Being at the top end of woman’s weights, sets me aside from the other British girls,’ states sensible Savannah who holds 12 GCSEs plus a BTEC (with distinction) in Sport.

‘All the big girls can punch hard. I’ve always been told I’m heavy handed but Peter (Fury her trainer and manager) has added EXPLOSIVE power…….and I do enjoy delivering a chilling knockout!’

Since hammering Hungary’s Klaudia Vigh in two at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse six months ago, fight student Marshall has been working hard in the gym with trainer Peter Fury.

She explains: ‘I’ve been in the gym all year building on my game, improving my strength and all-round technique with Peter at the Salford ABC gym. There’s just myself and Hughie (Fury, Peter’s son and world heavyweight contender) in camp at the moment and it’s a very chilled environment. If I offer an opinion, I know it’ll be listened to.’

On Saturday week she returns to The Vic for her first start of 2019, a year she believes will conclude with her on the cusp of world title contention.

‘I’ll be looking to put everything I’ve learned over the last six months into action; settle into the fight quickly and produce a good all-round display,’ predicts Marshall.

‘I just need to keep active, be involved in more 10 rounders and acquire the experience of fighting before thousands on big shows. By the end of this year, I’d hope to be 10 and 0 and knocking on the door for a world title, either at super-middle, or at middle against Claressa.

‘I intend unifying the world titles at both weights, no particular order, then walking away from boxing with my head held high, no regrets.’

Promoted by Hennessy Sports, Channel 5 and Infinitum, in association with VIP Promotions, Hughie Fury headlines an action packed show on Saturday 25th May at the Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, when he takes on undefeated Canadian Chris Norrad. Exciting super-featherweight Alex Dilmaghani faces the hardened Martin Parlagi. Female super-middleweight sensation Savannah Marshall returns to action. Steve Brogan defends his Central Area Lightweight Championship against rival Adam Hague and completing the card will be Matty Fagan, Connor Lynch and Marcel Braithwaite.

Tickets priced at £40 & £70 are available from http://vipboxing.tv/shop/vip-tickets/hughie-fury-saturday-25th-may-victoria-warehouse/ and 01942 874 241

London, UK (9 May 2019) The 29 year old super-middleweight – dubbed ‘The Silent Assassin’ due to her innate shyness – kickstarts her 2019 campaign at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on Saturday 25th May, exclusively live on free-to-air Channel 5, and fight professor Peter expects it to be the start of a year in which the massively talented Hartlepool hope finally soars to stardom.

‘Savannah’s gonna be a spectacular addition to women’s boxing,’ insists Fury who groomed both son Hughie and nephew Tyson Fury to world heavyweight title fights from his bootcamp in Bolton.

‘She doesn’t mess around. She’s spiteful in her punches, exciting, always looks to break opponents down. Believe me, she carries genuine knockout power.

‘She also has a very good work rate and is an excellent technician. For me, she ticks all the boxes, a complete fighter. I can’t fault her.’

And coach Fury is adamant that England’s first ever female amateur world champion (2012) – who also topped the podium at the 2010 European Union and 2014 Commonwealth Games meets – is blossoming both individually and professionally as she embarks on this crucial phase of her ring career.

He continues: ‘Though Savannah’s a very private girl, she’s growing as an individual and she’s now very keen to ask me questions. She’s a really good student of the game. She listens intently and is always happy to experiment with new stuff and improve further.

‘The old shyness has gone. Now she knows what she wants and where she’s going. She’ll definitely fight for a world title in the next 12 months.’

Masterblaster Marshall has cruised to five straight wins since announcing herself to the profession on the Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor ‘Money Fight’ at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas 21 months ago.

Having registered a stylish four round shut-out that night, three victims have crumbled to her combustible fists inside two rounds. And the 5ft 11 ½ in sharpshooter conceded just one round on one judge’s card when skating to the WBA Inter-Continental strap by way of a terrific 10 round decision over unbeaten Argentine Yanina Orozco over in Bulgaria last October.

Now Fury is imbedding the final finishing touches that he is adamant can catapult sweet Savannah to global glory.

‘We’ve got her a nice six-twos tune-up on May 25th then, if we can get her another four or five fights before this year’s through, she’ll be ready for any of the middleweight or super-middleweight world champions early next year at the latest. She’ll be a multi-weight world champion,’ predicts Peter.

‘I’d give her an excellent chance against Clarissa Shields. Why not? She’s beat her before (en route to her world amateur gold in 2012).

‘Trust me, Savannah’s the next big thing in English boxing!

Promoted by Hennessy Sports, Channel 5 and Infinitum, in association with VIP Promotions, Hughie Fury headlines an action packed show on Saturday 25th May at the Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, when he takes on undefeated Canadian Chris Norrad. Exciting super-featherweight Alex Dilmaghani faces the hardened Martin Parlagi. Female super-middleweight sensation Savannah Marshall returns to action. Steve Brogan defends his Central Area Lightweight Championship against rival Adam Hague and completing the card will be Matty Fagan, Connor Lynch and Marcel Braithwaite.

Tickets priced at £40 & £70 are available from http://vipboxing.tv/shop/vip-tickets/hughie-fury-saturday-25th-may-victoria-warehouse/ and 01942 874 241