Savannah Marshall has sent Claressa Shields a message ahead of their potential summer meeting in what would be one of the more highly anticipated women's bouts of all-time. Marshall will likely get her shot at bitter rival Shields next, should she defeat Femke Hermans this weekend.
The Hartlepool fighter will defend her title this weekend when she's set to come up against Hermans at the Newcastle Arena. Shields is set to watch the fight ringside whilst she trains in the UK with the two meeting this summer.
The Hartlepool fighter will hope 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.
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The two have been linked with fighting one another since their amateur bout 10 years ago, in which Marshall was victorious, with Shields eager to avenge her loss. Since then, both fighters have turned professional and remain undefeated.
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 during her press conference ahead of this weekend's fight, Marshall sent a message to her American rival.
She said: "She knows what I can do. I am not out to impress Claressa Shields - my boxing speaks for itself. Everyone has been talking about Claressa for four or five years, she has always been creeping about in the background so this is nothing new.
"I'm quite tunnel-visioned when it comes to who's in front of me, and I know that I can't overlook Femke and the skills she's got and what she brings.
"She is definitely the toughest fight of my career to date. She's a former world champion, has only been beaten by world champions. So I'm expecting a tough night on Saturday.
"So obviously, get Femke out of the way and then there's nothing in the way of setting up a massive fight between me and Claressa."
In February, Marshall was there to witness Shields' victory over Ema Kozin in Cardiff, with the two going face-to-face and exchanging words after the fight.
Newcastle Chronicle will cover Savannah Marshall's bout with Femke Hermans this week, and you can find all the coverage on our sports pages.
