Claressa Shields says she’ll prove in dramatic fashion that she’s better than Savannah Marshall.
The American star expects to knock out her rival Saturday night at O2 Arena in London (ESPN+), a fight that was originally scheduled for Sept. 10 but postponed in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
“The postponement was like a blessing in disguise,” Shields said, according to Sky Sports. “The goal is even bigger now, from September to now. I knew I was going to beat Savannah Marshall on September 10, but now I really feel in my spirit that I am going to knock Savannah Marshall out.
“This is going to be my statement fight.”
Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) is the only one to defeat Shields (12-0, 2 KOs), having outpointed the then 17-year-old in the 2012 AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships.
However, Shields went on to win two Olympic gold medals, claim professional titles in three divisions and become a face of women’s boxing while Marshall failed to medal and finally won a pro belt in 2020.
The one area in which Marshall can argue that she’s superior to Shields is punching power, as she has a 10-2 edge in knockouts. Marshall has used the term “pillow fists” to describe Shields.
Shields has responded to such talk by saying that her opposition has been stronger than Marshall’s. And, more recently, she told members of the media in the U.K. that fans will see who hurts whom when they finally meet again in the ring.
“She talked all that stuff about pillow fists,” Shields said, “but she’s not going to stand there and fight me. She’s not going to be able to handle my shots. She can’t outbox me. She’s not very skilled.”
She went on: “You all said she’s a knockout puncher, you all said she is going to knock me out, you all said that I can’t keep her off me, she is too strong, too big.
“You all said that, not me, so when I beat her easily and I [am] in there dropping her and have her face purple and blue after I don’t wanna hear nothing. Just tell me congrats and leave me alone.”
And, finally, Shields said that the result on Saturday will provide further evidence that she’s the best woman boxer ever.
“I’m really excited to show that I am the greatest women of all time,” she said. “Is Muhammad Ali the self-proclaimed GOAT just because he called himself the GOAT first? No. He accomplished everything he set out to do.
“He had records; he beat the best guys when all the odds were against him. That’s me. Two Olympic gold medals, 12 world titles. Three different divisions. Two time undisputed. How is that self-proclaimed? No that’s people being self-stupid if they are going to say I am self-proclaimed.
“I am not the self-proclaimed GOAT. Everybody calls me that. If you respect the game and if you respect women’s boxing, I’m at the top.”
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