Savannah Marshall says she has no doubt she will repeat her victory over Claressa Shields this weekend (Interview: Roy Kelly)
TEN years ago, I boxed and beat a girl who became a two-time Olympic gold medalist and multiple weight world champion as a pro. Coming full circle and beating her again will be awesome.
It would mean everything to me to win all four belts and keep women’s sports successful in this country. I boxed at The O2 in 2019 when I stopped Daniele Bastieri on my old GB amateur teammate Luke Campbell’s undercard against Vasyl Lomachenko, and now, three years later, I headline there. That feels brilliant and being part of an all-female card is awesome.
You look at how women’s sport is growing in profile and popularity in this country, it feels so good for someone to ride this wave. This couldn’t have come at a better time, so soon after the Lionesses won the European Championship. I used to watch Super League Women games and three quarters of the field was empty so to see the Lionesses fill stadiums and have a TV audience in the millions is unbelievable.
It would mean the absolute world to me to have that success.
I remember going to a place in Sunderland when I was a kid where the fans with the Headland team would go there to train and they wouldn’t let me train because I was a girl. It was Hartlepool Headland Boys Club when I started there and nothing was ever said but the sign fell off after about six months and then it said Hartlepool Headland Boxing Club.
Looking at the journey from then, I didn’t dare miss a training session, in case I got fired, to where we are now, days away from a world championship unification fight, and it’s great. I feel like I’ve already won, but when I win all four belts it will be the climax.
I watched it again the other day and saw Savannah Marshall, 20, skinny, with no muscle definition, boxing so well that she deserved that win no matter what she said. Her saying that I only got that decision because the Olympics were in London that year doesn’t bother me: 99 percent of the things she says are nonsense.
I hope that people can see it because they will see that I clearly won. Don’t forget, he only got to go to London 2012 because he lost to me. If she hadn’t won the World Championship, she would be without one of her Olympic gold medals. I can’t wait to box her and beat her again.
I’ve heard people say ‘Claressa will play and run,’ but I don’t think she feels like running.
I’ve never seen her get defensive, I don’t think she does that. I hope she tries to hit me too, really.
He’s told everyone he’s going to stop me, but he’s had a hard time stopping anyone, so I don’t expect him to start with me. I think he will stand up and change, but I am prepared for anything.
There may not be any love lost between us but I’m sure she respects me and I certainly respect her for what she’s done, she’s an amazing fighter. She apparently is a good girl, but she just likes to play the bad guy.
Me? I’m still the Silent Killer even if I say a little more now. I have matured a lot and now I embrace everything.
Professional boxing is a business, it’s not like the amateurs where I could stay in the background and not say anything. I have to sell myself and I have had to sell this fight. This camp has flown by and it has also been absolutely brutal. Peter warned me that it would be the hardest camp of my life and he was right.
It’s been so hard, so intense, but we’ve left no stone unturned and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We are ready.
