British media are reporting that upcoming sporting events are likely to be postponed in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
The showdown between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena could be among the events that will need to be rescheduled.
Members of the Shields team and other US-based organizers did not know the fate of the fight as of Thursday afternoon in the US.
The Mirror reported that, “boxing promoter BOXXER was also weighing whether or not to cancel its historic all-female show at London’s O2 on [Saturday] night, featuring Savannah Marshall colliding with Claressa Shields for the undisputed world women’s middleweight title.”
However, according to Charlie Proctor of Royal Central, a news website that focuses on the British monarchy, all sporting, political and comedy events are cancelled.
The Daily Star reported that the Shields-Marshall fight specifically “is likely to be postponed,” but the British outlet did not cite sources.
Many sporting events have already been postponed, according to multiple reports. Among them: Europa League football, BWM PGA championship, horse racing at Southwell and Chelmsford, the Northampton-Saracens rugby match, a cricket competition between England and South Africa and more.
Shields and Marshall, who is English, were poised to fight for the undisputed middleweight championship, a decade after Marshall became the only boxer to beat Shields, whether amateur or professional.
Marshall, 21 at the time, outpointed 17-year-old Shields at the 2012 AIBA World Championships. Shields won two Olympic gold medals and major titles in three divisions as a professional.
Marshall also became world champion in 2020.
Stay tuned for updates.
