Claressa Shields will not only be looking for blood when she faces her arch nemesis Savannah Marshall, but she also wants the Briton’s fanbase to hate her when she walks out of the ring victorious.
Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall will lock horns for the undisputed female middleweight crown this 10th September at the O2 Arena in London. Shields’ WBA, WBC and IBF titles will be on the line, versus Marshall’s WBO belt up for grab to crown the new four belt world champion.
Marshall remains is the only boxer ever to defeat the “GWOAT” in the squared circle. Back in 2012, the two had crossed paths as amateurs at the World Boxing Championships and in the second round, she defeated Shields to progress into a gold medal finish and has recently called her rival a “bully”.
I plan on hurting her and I plan on surprising her: Claressa Shields
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70870988/144473834.0.jpg "Claressa Shields wants Savannah Marshall's fans to \"hate\" her after Sep 10 clash 2")
After a decade, the two women’s boxing icons, now professionals, are set to clash for a second time for the undisputed crown, and speaking to BBC Sport in a recent interview, Shields made it clear that she’s happy to be the antagonist.
“Whoever supports Savannah Marshall, I want them to hate me after this fight. I’m fighting against all them,” said Shields, “I live for these moments and I live for this platform. They will remember me after this. The girl came over from Flint, Michigan with the blue hair. I’m coming to make the whole country mad.”
“When I turned professional, close people to me told me my aspirations were too big,” the 27-year-old went on, “Fighting at the T Mobile arena, making a million dollars, fighting on TV, was too big. Everything I said about myself and the future of women’s boxing, I was right.”
“Savannah isn’t ready for this media attention. She’s been saying my name over and over again. First she said she will knock me out. Now she’s going to outbox me. Which one is it? She’s getting smarter and realizing this fight won’t be as easy as she thought. Now she’s in with an elite fighter. I plan on hurting her and I plan on surprising her,” Shields added. [H/T Boxingscene.com]
