Getty There's little to separate Shields and Marshall ahead of their unification fight in London.
Home advantage won’t be the only thing in Savannah Marshall’s favor when she meets Claressa Shields at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday. She’ll also have a significant reach advantage on her side when the two fight to unify a host of middleweight titles, including the WBO, WBA, IBF and Ring belts.
History is also on Marshall’s side, since she won the only other bout between these two, an amateur clash from 2012. Yet despite the apparent physical and psychological edges belonging to Marshall, more than one expert is predicting undefeated Shields to win an expected classic.
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In the US, the main card (2:30 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch Shields vs Marshall live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ includes dozens of different live sports, including most Top Rank fights, plus every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Shields vs Marshall live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Shields vs Marshall Preview
Both fighters will enter the ring looking to protect perfect 12-0 records, but they’ve each won in different ways. For Shields, victory has usually come only after being taken the distance. The 27-year-old has won 10 of her fights by unanimous decision, per BoxRec.com, and as Matt Verri of the London Evening Standard noted, “it’s five years since she last knocked a fighter out.”
Shields’ results are in sharp contrast to those of Marshall, who has scored 10 knockouts in her pro career. She should be able to puncture Shields’ defenses early thanks to a three-and-a-half-inch height advantage and a reach of 72″ compared to her opponents’ 68.
The ‘Silent Assassin’ most recently floored Femke Hermans with a mean left hook Shields will be determined to avoid:
LIGHTS OUT! 👀
@Savmarshall1 stops Femke Hermans at the end of the third! 🔥
#MarshallHermans | TONIGHT | Utilita Arena | @SkySportsBoxing
Avenging the lone defeat of her amateur and pro careers is also Shields’ focus. She has her fans, including former IBO super-welterweight champion Hannah Rankin and Derby-born welterweight Sandy Ryan.
Rankin faced Shields and Marshall in the ring, while Ryan has sparred with each fighter. Both Rankin and Ryan told Sky Sports’ John Dennen how a “fantastic ring IQ” and “very good boxing IQ” will make the difference for Shields.
There are others who believe in WBA, WBC, IBF and Ring title-holder Shields chances. Among them, Michael Montero of The Ring Magazine thinks Shields “has faced much better opposition in the pro ranks.”
Montero also thinks Shields has improved considerably since losing to Marshall as a 17-year-old. Those two factors should give the American a win, but a close one, via a split decision.
There’s a strong argument to consider Shields the more battle-tested of the two fighters, despite Marshall being four years her senior. Shields has held titles in three different weight classes and been an undisputed world champion on two occasions.
For those looking for a hidden advantage, Shields believes she has one, having made more of the delay following the fight’s postponement from September 10. Shields is convinced the extra wait hasn’t been good for Marshall, per Amar Mehta of Sky Sports: “Since the postponement, she has been really quiet. She can say her energy and everything is still the same, but I know the fight week was draining for her.”
There’s little doubt about which fighter has been more vocal during the build-up:
That face-to-face action 😬
WBO champion Marshall can take confidence from her obvious power, but Shields is the more versatile puncher. If she stays on the move early and is selective with her shots, Shields will wear Marshall down enough to sway the judges.