By: Sean Crose
Saturday offers a plethora of notable fights, all at different times, which is welcome relief for fans craving matches of note. One of the most interesting cards of the weekend is the one going down at London’s O2 Arena. For that’s where two of the most significant bouts in the current fight game will transpire. What’s more, there’s a lot of history and bad blood to be found in the leadup to the card’s top matches, which makes things all the more intriguing. These fights were supposed to go down several weeks ago, but the death of Queen Elizabeth II led to the proceedings being postponed for a short period of time.
WBC, WBO and IBF middleweight champion Claressa Shields has referred to herself as the greatest women’s boxer of all time. And whether you believe that or not, it’s hard to deny the 12-0 former Olympian’s dominance and very impressive resume. In fact, the only fighter to ever put a blemish on Shield’s record is Savanna Marshall, who holds the WBO middleweight title and who will be Shield’s opponent in tomorrow’s main event. While it’s true the 12-0 Marshall’s win over Shields occurred in the amateurs, old wounds die hard.
Make no mistake about it – Shields and Marshall are not fans of one another. But compared to Mikayla Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner, Shields and Marshall may was well be the best of friends. There is SERIOUS hostility to be found between the 17-0 Mayer and the 12-1 Baumgardner. What’s more, the IBF, WBO and WBC super featherweight titles will be at stake when they fight on Saturday. Simply put, there’s a lot on the line here for each fighter. Both the Shields-Marshall and Mayer-Baumgardner bouts are scheduled for ten two minute rounds. The card will be aired in America live on ESPN+ Saturday starting at 2:30 pm eastern time.
