Savannah Marshall beat Claressa Shields 10 years ago when they were both young amateur boxers; Shields declared that Marshall didn't deserve that decision; Watch the Shields vs Marshall showdown for the undisputed middleweight championship this Saturday live on Sky Sports
Thursday 8 September 2022 06:09, UK
Savannah Marshall is the only boxer, amateur or pro, to have beaten Claressa Shields.
Yet Shields, speaking to Sky Sports ahead of her undisputed championship clash with Marshall on Saturday, claimed she didn't even deserve to lose their amateur contest.
"I had a lot against me. I feel like I fought against her, I fought against the judges, I fought against the ref. It wasn't to me a fair fight," the American told Sky Sports.
"After the first time that we fought I felt I won. I knew that if I ever faced her again, I would beat her."
She added, "Unfortunately in the amateurs, I was gold medalling all the tournaments and the Olympics and she was barely medalling. I don't know if it was a confidence issue, I don't know if it was a skill issue. But I guess the issue is solved now because she's with [trainer] Peter Fury so we're going to see what she does Saturday."
They will fight again, for all four of the major middleweight titles, this weekend and Shields will attempt to settle the issue once and for all.
"There's no trying to it. I'll get it done," Shields said. "I just know that I put in the hard work and I earned the right to be here. Anybody who feels any different - if the belts don't make you feel that way, if the Olympic gold medals don't make you feel that way, if my childhood and where I come from don't make you feel that way, then I don't think you're a real boxing fan.
"Because I had it hard and I made it through all that trauma, all that stuff I went through, I continued boxing, I took my loss like a real woman would, I continued to look forward and I fought my way to the top in three different divisions and over five years. So that's why I'm here.
"GWOAT [Greatest woman of all time] is not just something just said by me. People regard me as that and to be a 12-time world champ, in 12 fights, I mean what are we talking about?"
The biggest fight in the history of women's boxing - Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall - is live on Sky Sports on Saturday September 10. Be part of history and buy tickets for the London showdown here.
