WBO female middleweight champion Savannah Marshall’s upcoming title defense against former WBO female super middleweight titleholder Femke Hermans, which was set to take place on 12th March at the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, has been pushed back to 2nd of April, along with a shift in the venue, as Marshall’s third title defense will now take place at the Utilita Arena Newcastle, which also hosted the champion’s last fight in October.
Femke is a very tough girl, but I’m looking forward to putting on a show: Savannah Marshall
Coming off of two back to back title defenses, the Hermans fight will likely be Marshall’s final hurdle before she can make a run for the undisputed female middleweight championship and take on the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titleholder Claressa Shields, with whom she has formed a bitter rivalry in recent times.
In early February, Marshall was present ringside when Shields defended her unified crown as well as clinched the WBF belt against Ema Kozin a 10-round unanimous decision victory at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. Following the fight, Marshall claimed that Shields had ‘underperformed’ in the fight and calling herself the ‘GWOAT’ doesn’t work while going 10 rounds against someone like Kozin.
The Newcastle Utilita Arena hosted Marshall’s last in-ring appearance against Lolita Muzeya of Zambia, in which “The Silent Assassin” marked a dominating 2nd round TKO victory. Now, up against Femke Hermans, the former WBO super middleweight champion and the reigning EBU European Female. Considered to be one of the best female pugilists of this generation, Hermans has contested for the IBF female super middleweight title in the past, as well as challenged Shields’ unified female middleweight crown in 2018.
“I’m really happy to be going back to Newcastle Utilita Arena after the amazing reception I received there last time,” Marshall commented on her upcoming fight, “Femke is a very tough girl and it’s going to be a hard night’s work but I’m really looking forward to putting on a show.”
“I’m sorry to anyone who has been inconvenienced by the date change but I hope everyone who wants to be there can still be there. I really can’t wait,” Marshall added. [H/T Boxingscene.com]
Highlights:
- WBO female middleweight champion Savannah Marshall’s upcoming title defense against Femke Hermans has been moved to 2nd April at the Utilita Arena Newcastle
