By: Sean Crose
If ever there was a notable reason to postpone a major fight, it would probably be the passing of a much-loved monarch of nearly a hundred years. In what should surprise no one, tomorrow’s fight between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall for the undisputed world middleweight championship has been postponed. The Queen died yesterday at the age of 96 in Scotland. She had been England’s longest reigning monarch, having held the throne for 70 years. Promotional outlet Boxxer, the force behind Saturday’s scheduled matchup, issued an official statement regarding the postponement on Friday.
“As a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the British Boxing Board of Control has made the decision to postpone Saturday’s BOXERR LEGACY: Shields vs Marshall event,” the statement read. “Our sincere thoughts are with Her Majesty King Charles III (Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son and England’s new monarch) and the Royal Family during this deeply somber time. We are working with all parties to tentatively reschedule Saturday 15th October at The O2 in London. Further updates on the new date will be made as soon as possible.”
For his part, Shields took the news with respect. “Yes,” he tweeted on Friday morning. “I understand.” Shields had previously stated that he would respect whatever decision was made regarding the fight scheduled for Saturday. “Regarding the country,” he wrote on Twitter, “I understand that the Queen of the country that dies has a mourning of an entire country. The government is speaking and those in higher power. Whatever the decision, I respect it.”
Shields-Marshall is a highly anticipated fight, not only because it will be a battle between two undefeated fighters for middleweight supremacy, but also because Marshall is the only boxer on record to have defeated Shields in the ring. That said, the first match was an amateur event that took place about a decade ago. Since then, Shields has risen to the top ranks of women’s boxing and has even tried her hand at mixed martial arts. Marshall, however, has an impressive 12-0 record, identical to Shields. Unlike Shields, Marshall is also a knockout artist, as she finished all but two of her fights from the distance.
As things stand now, Marshall still holds the WBO middleweight title, while Shields continues to hold the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles. No doubt both fighters will be itching to share the ring as quickly as possible.
