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Boxing
Claressa Shields: 'Savannah Marshall is not the best, she's a contender'
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Claressa Shields has only lost one time in her amateur and professional career. That defeat came against Savannah Marshall in the 2012 Women's World Championships.
Since then, Shields has become a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2012, 2016), a three-division world champion, and an undisputed champion in two different weight divisions. A war of words has taken place throughout the years between Shields and Marshall, with the latter continuously boasting she would emerge victorious if they met in the professional ranks.
If Shields takes care of business on Saturday and successfully defends her WBA, WBC, and IBF middleweight titles on Saturday against Ema Kuzin and Marshall handles her end on March 12 against Femke Hermans to remain the WBO titlist, they will square off sometime in 2022. Think again if you believe Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) is overlooking Kuzin with Marshall looming.
"I've never looked ahead at Savannah Marshall," Shields told DAZN News recently. "She got one more fight also. She's coming off an injury. She's going to fight. I'm going to fight before her, and she's going to fight, and then me and her are going to fight right. I'm not even really thinking about her. Everybody has mentioned her for the last year or two years, and some story about me being afraid of her and I went to MMA to get away from her, and I retired from boxing all this craziness. But I never think about Savannah Marshall because I only think about the best.
"To me, Savannah Marshall is not the best. She's a contender, but to me, she's not someone that I feel that I'm going to worry about. I'm going to fight her because she has convinced a few people that since she'd beat me in the amateurs, she has the skills to beat me in the pros. My job as being the champion that I am is to take on all comers and to prove to myself and prove that I am the greatest woman of all time."
The Michigan native returns to the ring for the first time since beating Marie Eve Dicaire last March to become the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Between then and now, Shields took her skills to mixed martial arts under the PFL banner. She went 1-1, losing a close split decision to Abigail Montes in October. The fight could have gone either way, with most feeling Shields should have gotten the nod. The critics have been screaming loud since the loss. Shields has a message for them.
"S—, I'm the greatest woman of all time, and bring on your Empress," Shields boastfully said. "Bring on Savannah Marshall. She can get us inside the ring. I don't really have no beef for her except that she says outrageous stuff.
"I respect all the woman fighters. I just don't think that she has the skills or the power to beat me, but she can get inside. Marshall, I wish you luck in your upcoming fight. After you handle business, it’s me and you."
