Ritson vs Vazquez: Hannah Rankin questions if Savannah Marshall's KO power is 'the truth'
"She's not stupid, she won't take this fight lightly. If she does? More fool her"
Tuesday 22 September 2020 12:21, UK
Hannah Rankin says she felt "disrespected" by Savannah Marshall and insists her rival "hasn’t fought anybody of note yet".
The undefeated Marshall will contest a world title for the first time when she faces former champion Rankin for the vacant WBO middleweight championship on October 17, live on Sky Sports alongside Lewis Ritson vs Miguel Vazquez.
Rankin told Sky Sports about Marshall: "We don't know what she will do under pressure. Her opponents haven't had much notice - I'm coming after a full camp, fully-prepared. We'll see if she can stand up.
"If you have a full camp you won't fall over in the first couple of rounds. We'll have to see if that knockout power is the truth when she fights me, a prepared opponent. It's up in the air, as it stands."
Asked what threat Marshall may pose, Rankin said: "We don't know because she hasn't fought anybody of note yet.
"When we had our head-to-head on social media it was after I lost my world title, and I felt disrespected by her comments.
"I'm a former world champion so to have somebody saying things to me who had never even fought for a world title was very disrespectful.
"You can be a keyboard warrior on social media but in person? Savannah doesn't have the same [bravery] to say that to me."
Asked if Marshall respects her, Rankin replied: "I don't know. She has talked about respecting my experience as a pro, especially fighting all the top names.
"She's not stupid, she won't take this fight lightly. If she does? More fool her."
Scotland's Rankin has won nine of her 13 fights and held the IBO super-welterweight title.
She was beaten by Claressa Shields - the two-time Olympic gold medallist and undisputed middleweight champion whose most recent loss came as an amateur against Marshall.
"That was 10 years ago! We're talking about the amateurs," laughed Rankin.
"Look at the guys, they have losses in the amateurs then fought again in the pros. The pros is different to the amateurs. It's just a different game. The amateurs doesn't count now because we are professionals. If she gets past me and fights Claressa, I see Claressa winning that fight.
"Me and Claressa have fought already and we're good friends. We have no plans to fight. But both of us would fight anybody. If we both got offered it, we'd say yes.
"Savannah has talked about the Claressa fight constantly, it's all she talks about. If she wants to fight Claressa she needs to be fighting on the world stage.
"It will be a step too far for her to fight me for the world title. She won't achieve it. But if she wants to fight Claressa then she has to take that step and put her head in the oven."
Rankin warned Marshall: "She had better bring her A-game because I'm coming to win and to take that belt back to Scotland. She had better be ready.
"There has never been a time in history where an England vs Scotland rivalry has not been fantastic. It will add an extra fire to this fight."
Sky Sports schedule
WBSS final - Sept 26, live on Sky Sports
Yuniel Dorticos vs Mairis Briedis
The Golden Contract - Sept 30 live on Sky Sports
Ohara Davies vs Tyrone McKenna
Buatsi vs Calic - Oct 4, live on Sky Sports
Joshua Buatsi vs Marko Calic
Chantelle Cameron vs Adriana Dos Santos Araujo
Alen Babic vs Niall Kennedy
Aqib Fiaz vs Kane Baker
Linus Udofia vs John Harding Jr
John Hedges
Ritson vs Vazquez - Oct 17, live on Sky Sports
Lewis Ritson vs Miguel Vazquez
Savannah Marshall vs Hannah Rankin
Joe Laws
Kash Farooq
Qais Ashfaq
Thomas Patrick Ward
Povetkin vs Whyte 2 - Nov 21, Sky Sports Box Office
Alexander Povetkin vs Dillian Whyte
