Before this weekend’s middleweight title fight between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall, both fighters showed up to a final press conference to continue their pre-fight war of words.
Much has been made of Marshall with the reputation of being the puncher in this fight, but on the dais Shields looked squarely at Marshall and emphasized that she will be the one doing the damage if the fighters start to get confused.
“I don’t know why you think you’re so big and so strong. Knocking out all these bums… It’s funny. Stay with me, you’ll be the one to sleep,” Shields told Marshall.
Shields, of course, has only scored two stoppages in her 12 fights as a professional boxer, but she believes her skill and accuracy make her much more likely to land during exchanges where she can hurt Marshall.
At the press conference, Marshall wasn’t looking to take the bait from Shields, simply saying that he’s looking to box their fight, knowing that he will eventually hurt Shields with a good shot that will create more opportunities for her. And either way, we’ll know when the two fighters meet on Saturday.
