Savannah Marshall can vividly remember the moment Chloe Kelly scored the extra-time winner that catapulted the Lionesses to glory at the Women’s Euros last summer.
In some ways, she feels like she is riding on the coat-tails of that win and the wider rise of women’s sport in England.
Marshall will do her own history-making this weekend — immaterial of the result — when she headlines the first all-female card in British boxing history against American Claressa Shields.
For a boxer who had never seen a professional women’s fight before she turned pro and had no one to aspire to, the contrast to now is resounding. From a relatively low-key start, she finds herself boxing in front of a near sell-out crowd at the O2.
“Female sport is on a massive high due to the Women’s Euros and we’re catching the back end of that and riding that wave,” she said.
Her moment in the spotlight was meant to come five weeks ago but, the night before her weigh-in, news emerged of the death of the Queen. It caused promoter BOXXER to postpone as a mark of respect.
And for her part, Marshall, with breathing space before the rescheduled bout, went to Buckingham Palace in the ensuing days with her sister and a friend to pay her own respects.
The rearranged clash was supposed to take place in the wake of the fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr at the same London venue, only for that to be called off following Benn’s positive drugs test.
For Marshall, that was the only sane outcome from the very moment news emerged of the adverse analytical finding.
“It’s been the right decision,” she said.
“I don’t think drugs have a place in the sport. This sport is dangerous enough as it is. And until [Conor’s B sample is tested], you can’t really say he’s guilty or not guilty, but the initial finding is there and the best thing to do was to pull the whole show.
“But knowing how I am, if it was me, I think I’d still want to go ahead because of the amount of money lost. But this is why you have coaches, promoters and people around you to protect you and say, ‘look, this could damage your life’.”
In this instance, her promoter is Ben Shalom, who readily admits he has taken a chance in putting on such a card, particularly in light of the costly delay.
“We’re taking a risk but that’s how we’ve managed to break into the fold,” he said.
“There have been the same promoters since the 1980s and we’ve had to come in and disrupt that. This just felt like the right fight and the right time.”
She’s saying the same rubbish. The things she says don’t really offend me.
The clientele for this particular bout, he says, is different. Typically, ticket sales to boxing fights are just five per cent female. For this, the number of women in the stands at the O2 is more like 35 per cent.
Shields has predicted tomorrow night will be her “statement fight”, having already twice won Olympic gold and been a three-time division world champion — twice undisputed.
The one caveat to that is she has one defeat of note to her name back in the amateur ranks prior to the London Olympics — against Marshall. And the British boxer loves the idea that she has got inside the American’s head.
“You can see it in the way she goes on,” said Marshall. “And that is what’s made this fight. She’s saying the same rubbish. The things she says don’t really offend me. She’s quite readable. She has never caught me off guard with anything.”
But Marshall knows, more than a decade on, that their previous bout has no bearing on how events will play out tomorrow. And yet she has seen nothing from Shields to make her think the outcome will be any different.
