BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom has reaffirmed his desire to make Savannah Marshall vs Claressa Sheilds after the former's bout this weekend. Marshall will defend her title tomorrow night in Newcastle where she's set to come up against Femke Hermans.
The WBO World Female Middleweight Champion from Hartlepool had initially been scheduled for March, but the bout was moved to April 2 at the Newcastle Arena. Marshall puts her title on the line against former WBO World Champion Hermans, with her bitter rival set to sit ringside ahead of a likely announcement to fight American star Shields up next should Marshall come out victorious.
And promoter Shalom has hinted that a deal for the two to fight has already been agreed upon, he said: "Not to put pressure on Savannah I expect her to deal with Claressa so this fight should be no problem. The negotiations are just getting to the end now, it's just a matter of days before we finish that. I am already thinking about Savannah Claressa, it's the first fight we wanted to make when we came to Sky.
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"It's a fight they both want, you need great rivals, women's boxing has probably always struggled with that as it grows as a sport in its own right. It's the first fight in women's boxing where there's genuine rivalry and dislike. I think this is going to go off the scale in terms of women's boxing."
The Hartlepool fighter is also seeking to maintain her unbeaten career record, which now stands at 11-0, while she'll also be looking to extend her run of stoppage wins - having won her last seven without going the full distance. But before the main event, we'll see a stacked card in Newcastle, with a number of exciting fights.
Marshall was ringside for Shields' victory over Ema Kozin in February, on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Williams.
