WBC/WBA/IBF middleweight champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) once again became the undisputed 160lb champion with a ten round unanimous decision over WBO titleholder Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in a grudge match at the O2 Arena in London. Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, fired quick flurries that kept power-punching Marshall off-balance early on. Marshall upped the pressure and often bullied Shields into the ropes as the bout progressed. Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.
“I bit down in every round,” Shields said. “In every round, it felt like she would hit me with a big shot, and I would hit her with a big shot. If she hit me to the body, I’d punch her to the body. But I know that I did the most work today and that I was winning with my inside combinations.”
Marshall handed Shields an amateur defeat in 2012, the only time Shields has been toppled as a pro or amateur, but she couldn’t repeat the feat tonight in her own backyard.