The undisputed world middleweight championships on the road as Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall Square shut down at The O2, London on Saturday live on ESPN+ & FITETV in the US and Sky Sports in the UK
Shields – Marshall & Mikaela Mayer – Alycia Baumgardner to stream LIVE on ESPN+ at 2:30 p.m. ET – Main event runways are scheduled at 5 p.m. ET
There was plenty of heated verbal exchanges between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields at the pre-match press conference in London as the two faced a media-filled room ahead of the World Championships competition. Middle No dispute is long awaited.
What time is Savannah Marshall vs Claressa Shields?
- The main card is set to kick off at 2pm ET/7pm BST with the main event runways scheduled for 5pm ET/10pm BST.
- ESPN+ will broadcast the fight in the US, while Sky Sports is designated as the UK broadcaster.
- The fight took place at the O2 Arena in London.
WBO middleweight champion, Savannah Marshall
“I have always respected Claressa, but she doesn’t like that I have an opinion. I saw her box and I thought it was a demonic performance. She scared everyone that she was going to have a spectacular knockout, and I watched it for 10 rounds, drifted away and told her how I felt.
“I never said I would take her down, I said I would hurt her. She is a bully and she will wake up on the picture. I can’t wait to take all those belts off her and become the undisputed Middleweight Champion.”
CLARESSA SHIELDS
About how she feels while training…
“My body feels good and looks good too. I’m very happy. People keep asking me about my nerves. Sadly, I don’t have any nerves before any fight. I am very excited to fight. I don’t know why, but I just love it.
“The training camp was really the hardest part leading up to the fight. People say the fight will be the hardest part, and I just don’t believe the fight will be any harder than if I do three different workouts a day with four mile sprints and then I go to the gym and second practice session. I don’t believe that a night and a 10-round bout with Savannah Marshall, or any other woman, is harder than my training.”
Confronting Marshall…
“I don’t know if I don’t like (Marshall) more, or is it Christina Hammer? I do not know. I know they’re both just idiots. Savannah Marshall, she says some of the silliest things… She says if she goes around calling herself GWOAT that her friends will slap her. As they should… You have a belt. Please don’t call me GWOAT. Please don’t call me GWOAT. The only people who I think have the right to call themselves GWOAT are Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Everyone else, compress it. Savannah Marshall, compress. You’ve been playing pro for five years and only have one belt. Of course, your friends should slap you. I should slap you because you talk about wanting to be GWOAT, or you are GWOAT because you beat me 10 years ago. “
For those who are doubting her in this fight…
“For all of you who are doubting me, just remember to apologize after the fight. Say, ‘We were wrong.’ You don’t have to say you’re GWOAT Just say, ‘We were wrong, you’re the best and we respect you.’ And that you respect my hard work and my achievements because (Marshall) is a lucky man. The fact that she beat me in 2012 before the Olympics was a success in her career. That is her greatest achievement. Then downhill. It was unfortunate that I won the 2012 Olympics because I won again, and I won the world championship three times after that. So she’s a lucky one, and she’s still a lucky one because she beat a bunch of assholes. “
On the strength of Marshall…
“This whole talk is overblown. A lot of people don’t really realize how many enemies I have. I’m one of the most sought-after female boxers and people notice me, but I have a lot of haters because of how awesome I am. It’s like I’m Floyd Mayweather, but in a woman’s body, you know.
“So they wanted me to lose and they would say anything to make her feel better. I mean look, I accept her knockout because they’re there. She is 12-0 with 10 kills, but let’s review those girls’ achievements and then let me know if she should take them down or not. And you’ll say, ‘Yea, you should take someone 4-25. You should knock someone 11-75. ‘ Plus, you’re fighting them for three days, a week’s notice. You have to beat girls like that. “
About the importance of this war…
“It is important to win every war. (Marshall) doesn’t hold a special place in my heart where I’d rather beat her than beat anyone else in my life. No, that’s not it. I think the people that I overestimate about her. I think she’s a good fighter. I think she’s a big girl for the weight class. But she’s not as good as me. She’s not as smart as I am, and she doesn’t know how to adjust. That’s what we’ll see..”
Bob Arum, Hall of Fame Promoter: “Everybody for years to come will talk about this event in boxing history. Two huge multi-world titles fighting and incredibly talented women took down all the cards. This event will go down in boxing history.”
WBC, IBF & WBA middleweight champion, Claressa Shields: “When I win on Saturday night, it will be a great win. It’s not the first time I’ve fought for the undisputed championship, it’s not the first time I’ve had a tough training camp, and it’s not the first time I’ve been the underdog. I can’t wait for the chance to silence those who doubt Savannah’s supposed knockout prowess.
“I have never seen someone win amateurs in their 10 years of career. I have dominated this sport for 10 years. I won the Olympics, then I won again. Then I turned pro and won the world title from my 4th match.
“Champions are not made, they are born. And I was born to do this.”
WBO & IBF Super Featherweight Champion, Mikaela Mayer: “I’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this point in my career, so there’s no point in stopping now. It will be difficult to stay where I am when I got here. I’ve been with Alycia in the past but I respect her enough to know she’ll push me hard on Saturday night.
“At this stage of my career, I can fight in many ways. If this has to be a dogfight, I will win a dogfight. If it had to be a boxing match, I would win a boxing match. I can beat her any way the fight goes. I’ll take her into the deep, I’ll take her to places she’s never been.”
WBC ultralightweight champion, Alycia Baumgardner: “This is going to be a historic night and I can’t wait to be a part of it.
“I am ready for Saturday and have been preparing for this moment for a very long time. I’m at the top of my game and I’ve been boxing for 20 years for this bout. This Saturday will really mark my place in the sport, I’m an athlete. I was born for this, made for this, and this is my moment.”
Olympic gold medalist, Lauren Price: “I feel proud and honored to be on this phenomenal card. I am planning to spend my time playing professionally, after all my amateur successes. I just want to look classy in every performance and always move forward.”
Caroline Dubois: “Going to O2 this week, and seeing the atmosphere like fight week has built up, that shows me the magnitude of the occasion. Now I can’t wait to get in the ring in a bigger venue than I’ve ever been in and deliver a great performance.
“Women’s boxing moves so fast, before you know it in your career you’re fighting former world champions and world title challengers, but I’m ready to fight in Saturday night.”
Olympic bronze medalist, Karriss Artingstall: “I hope to show what I did in camp on Saturday night. I need to start my knockouts pretty soon so hopefully I can start and get back to scoring in this game.
“I want to go as fast as my performance allows, if I win in terms of form, then I will continue to go big in every game. The talent on the whole card is absolutely incredible, the main event and co-main can bring attention to whatever card is going on, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.” .
Georgia O’Connor: “This is a great event for our sport and I can’t believe I can be a part of it, but I have to focus on my own fight and win to move forward. set for his career.”
Ebonie Jones: “I am feeling better than ever and I am looking forward to taking another step in my career on Saturday night at such a wonderful event. But for me, it’s all about getting another win.”
April Hunter: “I am proud to represent Northeast at this event, just like Savannah. I had a setback in my career, and that was just the motivation to give my all in all my games, including on Saturday night. “
Shannon Ryan: “I can’t wait for Saturday night. To perform on this stage so early in my professional career is amazing, but I’m trying to make a statement. My style is more suited to the professional game than ever for the amateurs, so I’m ready to continue.”
