As the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, Claressa Shields sprang up and down in the ring. She had traveled to the United Kingdom to compete against a British opponent.
Shields defeated Savannah Marshall by unanimous decision on Saturday in London to win the middleweight title uncontested for the second time after also holding all four belts in 2019 and 2020. Shields defeated Marshall by scores of 97-93, 96-94, and 96-94.
Shields overcame Marshall, who had previously defeated her as an amateur in a match Shields thought she had won, and in doing so cemented her status as possibly the greatest female boxer in history.
Shields won the opening round of the bout by employing an aggressive strategy in addition to the technical defense for which she has become renowned throughout her career to stave off Marshall’s strength. Shields frequently leaned on the ropes during the battle, perhaps in an effort to wear Marshall out a little.
Shields also appeared to have discovered a good compromise, maybe as a means of counteracting some of Marshall’s influence.
In seven of the fight’s ten rounds, Shields outpunched Marshall, and she landed a lot more powerful blows in the opening stanza. In the fifth round, Marshall, who had fought back during the second half, started to throw more powerful blows.
According to Compubox, Shields landed 35 power blows in the first two rounds, which was more than Marshall had ever dealt with her in a full bout.
Shields had a strike rate of 36.4% (175 of 480), while Marshall had a strike rate of 34.3%. (136 of 397). Shields had more power punches overall, however Marshall had more power punches land (43.1% to 40.4%). (131 to 122).
Shields (13-0, 1 KO) claimed that Marshall’s power prevented her from seeing out of her right eye in the final five rounds, and it was in those rounds that Marshall (12-1, 10 KO) appeared to close the gap.
Marshall, according to Shields, hit her hard in each round, but she also countered and won the fight by pressing the action inside.
The 27-year-old Flint, Michigan native said she would like to fight again in the UK, but added that she hoped the next time she would not be booed as much as she was against Marshall, a Macclesfield, England resident. Shields used the American fighter motif by donning shorts and gloves with an American flag pattern and danced to Yung Wun’s “Tear It Up” as she entered the ring from the top of the platform.
Shields said that if there was a contentious decision, there was a rematch clause in the contract, but Shields was declared the winner by a unanimous vote. She did not rule out rematching with Marshall in the US if the audience demanded it.
The fight was the main event of an all-women show that also featured the junior lightweight unification match between Mikaela Mayer, the IBF and WBO champion, and Alycia Baumgardner, the WBC champion.
After months of back and forth, Baumgardner defeated Mayer 93-97, 96-95, 96-95 in a split decision to take home all three belts. As neither combatant fully asserted themselves, it was a close battle that could have gone either way.
Mayer had a sluggish start to the fight as Baumgardner quickly gained the upper hand. Almost every round in the second half was extremely tight, but Mayer calmed down and recovered in the fourth round.
One of the game’s turning points came when Baumgardner eliminated Mayer in the seventh round following what seemed like three straight rounds of Mayer’s aggression.
Detroit resident Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KO) connected on 110 of 324 punches (34%) while Mayer connected on 100 of 349 (29%). Mayer, a Colorado Springs resident, threw 100 more jabs than Baumgardner while landing a larger percentage of them (27% to 25%). (227 to 127). Baumgardner scored 32, Mayer 61, with his jabs.
