Savannah Marshall called out Claressa Shields for a huge showdown after she produced yet another dominant display by stopping Maria Lindberg in round three to retain her WBO middleweight title.

The two women were competing on the undercard of Conor Benn’s clash with Samuel Vargas at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday, live on Sky Sports and DAZN.

Marshall (10-0, 8 KOs) was in total control throughout the fight, dropping Lindberg (19-7-2, 10 KOs) in round two, before following that up with another knockdown in the following round that the Swede was unable to recover from, meaning that Marshall got the win after 1:11 of round three.

Marshall becomes the first fighter to stop Lindberg, and has now made her intentions clear that she wants a battle with Shields next.

She said: “Utmost respect to Maria. I’m really grateful that she stepped in. On Sunday it looked like I wasn’t even fighting, so credit to her. Maria had never been stopped, and I didn’t think it would go like that but I’m happy with how I performed.

“It’s all about flow. Everything Peter Fury teaches me is all about hitting correctly and getting the most power. I’m over the moon with the progress I’m making with Peter.

[caption id="attachment_36424" align="alignnone" width="300"] *** FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE ***
Savannah Marshall vs Maria Lindberg, WBO World Female Middleweight title Fight.
10 April 2021
Picture By Dave Thompson Matchroom Boxing

“I punch too hard for Claressa Shields. She doesn’t want to know. She would much rather roll about it in the Octagon and call out Katie Taylor who is four weight classes lower. I won’t wait forever, I want to be out in the summer.

“The IBF title is vacant at my weight, and if not that then I will go back up to super-middleweight and win a world title there. If Shields then gets some guts then we can have a big showdown at the end of the year.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn added: “We’re making good progress on a Shields fight. Her teams know how dangerous the fight is and they want a lot of money, but I’m prepared to pay them.

“There is no way Shields goes 10 rounds with Savannah Marshall. Savannah is the only girl to beat Shields in her entire life. She beat her in the amateurs and she will do in the professionals.

“Shields is one of the top three female pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but she is wide open and can’t stand up to Savannah’s power. Savannah is the hardest pound-for-pound puncher in women’s boxing. Marshall vs. Shields is superfight that can headline in the USA or England, and I will do everything to try and make it.”

Photos by Mark Robinson/Dave Thompson/Matchroom Boxing

Savannah Marshall will make the first defence of her WBO Middleweight World Title against former World Champion Femke Hermans on Saturday April 10, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories.

Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Hannah Rankin in seven rounds to win the vacant WBO Title last October, the former amateur World Champion was a class above her Scottish rival from the opening bell and managed to go one better than her old foe Claressa Shields by ending the fight inside the distance.

Hermans (11-3, 4 KOs), another former opponent of Shields, took the American star the distance in a challenge for her WBC, WBA and IBF Middleweight crowns in December 2018, before falling short in a challenge for the IBF Super-Middleweight Title against Elin Cederroos four months later.

She won the vacant WBO Super-Middleweight World Title by outpointing Nikki Adler on away territory in Germany back in May 2018, and will be hoping to cause another upset when she locks horns with Hartlepool’s Marshall.

The 31-year-old from Londerzeel in Belgium picked up the vacant EBU European Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision against Russia’s Luiza Davydoza in December and her latest World Title challenge will be the first time that she has fought in the UK.

“I’m really happy and I can’t wait for fight night in three weeks’ time,” said Marshall. “I’m very aware of Femke Hermans, a very good fighter. She’s been in with the best, she’s a former WBO World Champion, so I’m sure she’s going to try and get her belt back.

“I know she’s no pushover and I’m looking forward to getting in there. For me, this is probably my toughest test to date. The reigning European Champion. She lost out on a close decision to the World Super-Middleweight Champion, so I know it’s going to be a tough fight.

“I never go into a fight thinking I’m going to stop someone but I know if I land, whoever I land on, I will hurt them. I’m just looking forward to putting on a good display and showcasing my skills.”

Marshall vs. Hermans is part of a big night of action on April 10, rising Welterweight star Conor Benn (17-0, 11 KOs) defends his WBA Continental Title against Samuel Vargas (31-6-2, 14 KOs) in the main event, Watford’s Shannon Courtenay (6-1, 3 KOs) faces Australia’s Ebanie Bridges (5-0, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBA Bantamweight World Title, Glasgow Bantamweight Kash Farooq (14-1, 6 KOs) returns after his masterclass win over Angel Aviles and Takeley Super-Middleweight John ‘The Gentleman’ Hedges (1-0) looks to build on his pro debut win last October, with more fights to be added soon.

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom are delighted to announce details of their upcoming UK schedule following the British Boxing Board of Control’s confirmation earlier this week that Boxing tournaments under its jurisdiction will resume in the middle of February. All of the action will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories, with Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte 2 shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all other markets excluding the UK and Ireland.

Hackney Cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie (15-0, 12 KOs) attempts to become Britain’s next World Champion in just his sixteenth fight when he clashes with Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO crown on Saturday March 20.

On Saturday April 10, Hartlepool’s Savannah Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) makes the first defence of her WBO Middleweight World Title after her emphatic win over Hannah Rankin in October, Commonwealth Middleweight Champion Felix Cash (13-0, 9 KOs) fights for the first time since his win over Jason Welborn

Matchroom Sport Managing Director Eddie Hearn said: “Even in a pandemic I feel like this is the strongest start to a year Matchroom have had in a long time. It’s going to be a rough ride over the next couple of months but with plenty of drama and excitement along the way. We have some thrilling main events and stacked cards that feature some of the biggest names in British boxing returning to action as we look to make a real statement in 2021.”

Adam Smith, Head of Boxing Development for Sky Sports, said: “Lawrence Okolie finally receives his World Title fight against Krzysztof Glowacki on another exciting night that features Ramla Ali’s return and Chantelle Cameron’s first defence of her WBC belt. It’s then Conor Benn’s turn to take centre stage in a crucial showdown with Samuel Vargas. Boxing is back in 2021, so get ready for more epic fights on Sky Sports.”

USYK OUTPOINTS CHISORA – RESULTS FROM LONDON
12 x 3 mins WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Title
OLEKSANDR USYK WUD12 (117-112, 115-113, 115-113) v DEREK CHISORA

Oleksandr Usyk passed his first major test in the Heavyweight division by outpointing Derek Chisora and winning their high-stakes clash via unanimous decision.

HANDOUT PICTURE COMPLIMENTS OF MATCHROOM BOXING
Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora, Heavyweight Contest.
31 October 2020
Picture By Dave Thompson.

Ukraine’s undefeated Olympic gold medallist and former Undisputed WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion answered doubts about his natural size by displaying his electric footwork and razor-sharp punch accuracy against Chisora at The SSE Arena, Wembley.

Usyk remains the WBO Mandatory Challenger to Anthony Joshua, who watched from ringside, and who he intends to fight in 2021.

“I was very happy to be back in the ring,” Usyk told Matchroom afterwards. “I haven’t fought for more than a year. It was a huge pleasure for me. You saw my smile when I went into the ring. I really want to thank god for this victory. Derek has big power, he has strong punches but I was prepared for it.

“I didn’t think about his boxing IQ. All I was thinking about was the boxing and what I wanted to do. I am very thankful for Derek giving me this opportunity. I am very thankful to this family and his team. I am happy. He is a good man. Anthony (Joshua), how are you? I am coming for you.”

Usyk told Sky Sports: “Chisora a big guy, a hard guy. I was expecting a fight like that, I was expecting a tougher fight. My plan is to go to my home, maximum time with my family. Training and improving myself. Not just World Champion, the Undisputed World Champion [is my aim].”

A disappointed Chisora reacted to defeat: “I feel great. I was pushing the pace. I’m just disappointed with the result, gutted. To everybody who can’t make it [to the fight], I’m gutted for everybody. In the Heavyweight game, you have to fight not box. I gave a couple of rounds away.”

10 x 2 mins vacant WBO Middleweight World Title
SAVANNAH MARSHALL WTKO7 (1:59) v HANNAH RANKIN
(Hartlepool) (Glasgow)

Savannah Marshall became Britain’s latest World Champion by stopping Hannah Rankin in seven rounds to win the vacant WBO Middleweight World Title.

HANDOUT PICTURE COMPLIMENTS OF MATCHROOM BOXING
Savannah Marshall vs Hannah Rankin, Vacant WBO Middleweight World Title Title.
31 October 2020
Picture By Dave Thompson.
Savannah Marshall celebrates.

The former amateur World Champion was a class above her Scottish rival from the opening bell and kept herself on course for a potential showdown with American star and former amateur foe Claressa Shields.

“I’m absolutely over the moon,” Marshall told Matchroom. “Fair play to Hannah. She’s an amazing fighter with big heart and I’ve got loads of respect for her. I’m just thrilled to bits. I knew I was good enough. I’ve always known I was good enough. The chances have just never been there for me. Thank god it came tonight. Me and Hannah sold that fight, we really sold that fight. I don’t know what it was like for her but there was no real bad blood there for me.

“With Peter testing positive two weeks ago, I thought that was just typical me! I just had to ride the wave. I think England has got the best female professional boxers. COVID was a blessing because it’s brought them all out. I’m the first female boxer to be an amateur World Champion and a professional World Champion. I beat the men. I beat the men to it. It’s just a dream.

“The pool isn’t that big at the higher weights. I’d like to go up to Super-Middleweight. I’m not really interested in Super-Welter. I think my power stays at Middle. I’ve just battered Claressa Shields’ mate. I’ve just battered her best mate. I’m sure she said Hannah was going to stop me. So what does that say about her boxing IQ. She couldn’t get Rankin out of there. Hannah is a brave fighter. Claressa couldn’t do that. Me against Shields is the biggest fight in women’s boxing. Let’s get it on. I want a piece of it.”

Ahead of Oleksandr Usyk’s huge Heavyweight clash with Derek Chisora and WBO Female Middleweight World title bout between Savannah Marshall & Hannah Rankin at The SSE Arena, Wembley on Saturday October 31, shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all of its nine markets including the U.S., all fans are invited to watch all events prior to the fights.

Oleksandr Usyk – Kiev, Ukraine – 17-0, 13 KO’s – fighting Derek Chisora in a Heavyweight clash:

“There will be no war. I bring peace – pure, clean boxing. He will definitely want to hurt me badly but I won’t stand in front of him. I don’t know why everyone is talking about a test at Heavyweight because, all of my life, I have been tested by Heavyweights. In the World Series of Boxing I was a Heavyweight – people wanted to hurt me but didn’t manage to. If the king of animals would be considered according to the size, then it would be elephant, not the lion. An elephant is a friend of the mouse!”

Derek Chisora – Finchley, London – 32-9, 23 KO’s – fighting Oleksandr Usyk in a Heavyweight clash:

“People tell me that I hold the key to the rich and famous! You shall not pass! He will try to box. I can’t box. It will be a shoot-out. When I hit him, he’ll be hit, there is nowhere to hide. I need a fair referee. I want this fight to be fair. I don’t want to be dancing or wrestling. I want both of us to work fairly. I have to keep marching forwards. He will try to wrong-foot me but I’m ready. People will be surprised.”

WBO World Title showdown rescheduled following positive COVID-19 test

Savannah Marshall and Hannah Rankin will contest the vacant WBO Middleweight World Title on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora on Saturday October 31, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the US.

The pair were scheduled to meet on the Lewis Ritson vs. Miguel Vazquez show in Peterborough on Saturday October 17 but Marshall’s trainer Peter Fury returned a positive COVID-19 test, resulting in the fight being postponed in line with the British Boxing Board of Control rules.

“Honestly it has been a dream to have this fight rescheduled so quickly,” said Marshall. “After the past week I’ve just been overjoyed with the news. I couldn’t have asked for a better or bigger platform than on the Usyk vs. Chisora bill.

“It was frustrating that the fight fell through, but it’s one of those things. There was nothing I could have done about it. Peter is okay which is the main thing.

“My training won’t change and will just be like any other training routine 10 days out from a fight. Nothing will change. It hasn’t got more personal for me, as me and Rankin are just two girls that can’t wait for a dust up with each other.”

“It is great that the fight has been rescheduled so soon, thank you to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom for sorting it all out,” said Rankin. “Nothing changes for me. I will be crowned WBO Middleweight World Champion on October 31.”

Adam Smith, Head of Boxing Development at Sky Sports, said: “It’s fantastic news that Savannah Marshall’s World Title fight with Hannah Rankin has been swiftly rescheduled for the Usyk-Chisora bill, which is fast becoming an unmissable night of action.

“Women’s boxing has never been stronger, with Ellie Scotney showcasing her talent last weekend, and now we can look forward to an all-British battle between Marshall and Rankin, with the WBO Middleweight belt at stake. Savannah, a former Sky Scholar, has those polished amateur skills but Rankin has greater professional experience – it’s an enthralling encounter.

“Lee Selby is also targeting another World Title shot on a stacked undercard, which also features Tommy McCarthy’s European Title fight, before Usyk and Chisora take centre stage, in what promises to be a Heavyweight classic!”

Marshall vs. Rankin is part of a huge night of boxing as pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) faces his first real Heavyweight test in Derek Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs), Lee Selby (28-2, 9 KOs) and George Kambosos Jr (18-0, 10 KOs) square off in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Lightweight World Title, Heavyweight fan favourite Dave Allen (18-5-2, 15 KOs) returns to action, Belfast’s Tommy McCarthy (16-2, 8 KOs) meets Belgium’s Bilal Laggoune (25-1-2, 14 KOs) for the vacant European Cruiserweight Title and Amy Timlin (4-0) faces off with Carly Skelly (3-0) for the vacant Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight Title.

Glaswegian motivated for England vs. Scotland clash

Hannah Rankin has warned Savannah Marshall that she is in for a rude awakening if she is overlooking their WBO Middleweight World Title clash with one eye on a future showdown with her old amateur foe Claressa Shields.

Hartlepool’s Marshall (8-0, 6 KOs) remains the only fighter to have inflicted a ring defeat on three-division World Champion Shields. ‘The Silent Assassin’ outpointed America’s ‘T-Rex’ in China en route to cementing herself as Britain’s first ever female amateur World Champion in 2012.

Talk of a ‘rematch’ between the rivals has been building ever since Marshall signed promotional terms with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in August last year, but Rankin – who lost to Shields in 2018 – is planning on ripping up the script by taking the WBO crown back to Glasgow with her.

“All we ever hear about is that fight,” said Rankin. “The amateur circuit is nothing like the professional ranks. Claressa has gone on to do amazing things. She’s one of the best female fighters we are going to see in this generation. To just talk about an amateur win over her is nothing as far as I’m concerned.

“If she’s concentrating on that fight and she’s looking past me then she’s in for a huge shock. She’s not getting past me on October 17th. That World Title is coming home with me and I don’t know where she’s going to go from there.”

Rankin (9-4, 2 KOs), a former IBO Super-Welterweight World Champion, has the edge in experience over Marshall in the pro ranks, and the 30-year-old believes her World Championship pedigree will be the difference when they clash in Peterborough this Saturday.

“I’m not going to try something new,” added Rankin. “I’ve been there before and I know how my body is going to feel. I know how I react at championship distance as a Middleweight fighter. It’s going to be a bit of a disadvantage for her. She’s never made Middleweight, so she’s got to come down to make that weight first of all on the scales.

“I’m sure she will, her and Peter Fury are very professional. It’s how she’s going to feel when she makes that weight, we’re in the ring and we’re heading into the later rounds. How is her body going to hold up to that championship distance?

“She’s not had much experience fighting anyone of a high level really. She hasn’t fought anyone actually at her weight. A lot of the girls have stepped up to fight her at her weight. This is going to be the first time she’s faced someone who’s had a full camp. I’m coming to win and I’m going home with that belt. It’s going to be a brand-new experience for her.”

Marshall vs. Rankin is part of a huge night of boxing at the East of England Arena in Peterborough, Geordie favourite Lewis Ritson (20-1, 12 KOs) takes on former long-reigning World Champion Miguel Vazquez (42-9, 16 KOs), 2016 Rio Olympian Qais Ashfaq (8-0, 3 KOs) meets Salford’s Marc Leach (14-1-1, 3 KOs) in a Final Eliminator for the British Super-Bantamweight Title, Joe ‘Benwell Bomber’ Laws (9-0, 5 KOs) takes on Norwich’s Rylan Charlton (5-0-1, 2 KOs) over six rounds at Super-Lightweight, West Rainton’s Thomas Patrick Ward (29-0, 4 KOs) fights Thomas Essomba (10-6, 4 KOs) over ten rounds at Super-Bantamweight and Catford’s Ellie Scotney makes her professional debut against Bec Connolly (3-7) at Featherweight.

On Saturday October 17, Hartlepool’s Savannah Marshall meets Glasgow’s former World Champion Hannah Rankin for the vacant WBO Middleweight World Title at Newcastle Arena, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom.

“I’m so happy that I have a fight date set in stone,” said Marshall. “It’s been a while, but I’m excited to be back in the ring. Hannah Rankin is a former IBO World Champion, so I’m expecting a tough hard fight against her, but it’s one that I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s been a long road for me, so it would be incredible to become World Champion. It’s crazy to think I was meant to be fighting for a World Title in April at Light-Heavyweight, and this is now at Middleweight, but that’s female boxing, and you have to take these opportunities when they come.”

“This fight has been in the back of my mind since it was first talked about in February,” said Rankin. “I have proven time and time again; I’m willing to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. That’s the foundation my career has been built on.

“For this fight, I’ll be stepping up to Middleweight, and I’m relishing the chance to become a two-time two-weight World Champion having already held the IBO Super-Welterweight Title.

“With regards to Savannah, I’m excited for my chance to end the hype; as a professional, she’s yet to be tested. On October 17, I will be crowned WBO World Middleweight Champion, and I’ll be bringing that title back to Scotland. Scotland vs. England is always a fun clash in any sport!