When a fighter sacrifices everything and it’s just not enough, it’s common to witness tears, tantrums and sheer emptiness behind the eyes. That raw moment in the minutes and hours that follow, a beaten fighter craves privacy, but the sport demands one last intimate moment. Often a fighter will regret their reaction; storming from the ring after a decision, refusing to acknowledge a rival as superior or denying them their moment to shine. Not so Savannah Marshall.
There was dejection, sure, but the Hartlepool fighter, slipping to a first professional loss to the irrepressible Claressa Shields, now a three-weight undisputed champion, could already see the legacy created after gambling on Saturday’s iconic night for women’s boxing at The O2 in London.
