Claressa Shields has sent a warning to bitter rival Savannah Marshall after witnessing the latter dramatically knockout opponent Femke Hermans this past weekend. Hartlepool world champion Marshall dropped Hermans in the third-round with a huge left hook with the referee immediately calling the fight off as Hermans needed medical attention - and was thankfully okay.
Shields sat ringside for the bout to witness the knockout, but indicated that she was not impressed by Marshall's victory, or her knockout power. Now, Marshall has turned her attentions towards a blockbuster clash with American star Claressa Shields in what would be a title unification bout.
The two have been matched with each other for 10 years now, after Marshall famously beat Shields at amateur level in the second round of the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao. Shields was just 16 then, though. And insists that a lot has changed since then.
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A unification bout with Shields is reportedly already in the works, with BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom revealing that talks are in the 'latter stages' between the two camps.
And speaking after the knockout, Shields sent a warning to Marshall ahead of their expected blockbuster meeting this summer.
She said: "Congrats, that's what you're supposed to do. I said that she would do that with Femke. I'm not Femke Hermans, I'm not Hannah Rankin, I'm not any of those girls she fought against. As much punch power as she has, I'm sorry to tell you, if that's what I got to look forward to, it's going to be a wipe out.
She added: "She's [Marshall] going to have trouble with me and she's definitely not going to knock me out. Femke was able to make her miss and I'm 10 times faster than Femke, so what do you think I'm going to do?"
Speaking after the win herself, Marshall was confident in her abilities to defeat Shields. She said: "There's no-one else in the way between me and Claressa, so it's me and Claressa in the summer. One hundred per cent I know Claressa can't handle my power. I know when I land on Claressa it will be good night. It's Great Britain versus America, it's always a great rivalry."
Should a deal be agreed, a fight is likely to happen in the UK this summer, with Newcastle United's St James Park being mentioned as a potential venue. The unpredictable weather may make that tricky though, with the Newcastle Arena being a more likely destination to host the bout.
Last week, BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom revealed a fight was close to being agreed, with rumours that a 'Gloves Are Off' special between the two will also be filmed with Sky Sports.
