Claressa Shields appreciates how far women’s boxing has come since she turned professional nearly six years ago.
So, a huge moment like the one that awaits him on Saturday night in London did not seem possible. Even Shields’s staunchest supporters tried to prepare her for the potential disappointments she was sure to encounter in the male-dominated boxing business.
The 27-year-old Shields realizes there is still a long way to go, but the undefeated three-division champion has taken the time to realize what her middleweight championship showdown with Savannah Marshall means for boxing. female in general, not just for her career.
“Being at the O2 Arena, main event, I think it’s the first women’s fight to be the main event at the O2 Arena, it’s huge,” Shields told BoxingScene.com. “And I’m super happy about that. Ever since I turned pro, I knew I was the woman who would change the fighting game. You know, and I was saying to some of the people I love who were close to me in the fighting game, ‘Look, it’s me.
“And they said, ‘As good as you are, we don’t want you to get your hopes up because there may not be any respect or money for you in boxing.’ We know you feel this, but we just want to prepare you mentally. I don’t want to say we told you, but it’s like, hey, you might not get what you want. But deep in my heart, I knew that I was the one, that I would get what I wanted and that I would be a pioneer in boxing.’ ”
A grateful Shields sat ringside, as DAZN analyst, as Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano drew a sellout crowd of 19,187 to Madison Square Garden for a fantastic lightweight title fight that Taylor won via split decision on May 30. April in New York.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist is also proud that one of her USA Boxing teammates, Mikaela Mayer, will take on Alycia Baumgardner in the co-main event on Saturday night. The biggest fight of Mayer’s career will give him the chance to add two more 130-pound championships to her collection.
“Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano and myself, Mikaela Mayer, we all bring to the game in our own way,” Shields said. “But I have always been one of those who defend equal pay. I have always been one of those who defend the same fight time, the same promotions and everything the same, the same accumulation. So, I’m happy to have done my job, but there is still more work to be done. I am happy that women’s boxing is here because it went from nothing to something huge. And I am part of that huge something.”
The 10-round, 160-pound battle between Shields (12-0, 2 KOs), of Flint, Michigan, and Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs), of Hartlepool, England, will headline a women’s show that will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland (7:30pm BST) and broadcast on ESPN+ in the US (2:30pm ET). The odds on the Shields-Marshall matchup are roughly equal, according to most sportsbooks.
Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs), of Colorado Springs, Colo., is consistently listed as a more than 2-1 favorite to beat Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs), of Bingham Farms, Michigan. Baumgardner and Mayer will fight for Baumgardner’s WBC and IBO belts and Mayer’s IBF and WBO championships.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
