
Boxing News
Delayed Shields-Marshall Mayer-Baumgardner DoubleHeader Nears
Delayed Shields-Marshall Mayer-Baumgardner DoubleHeader Nears
From Thursday afternoon the final press conference was held in London, England, for the women’s championship doubleheader bouts between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall for middleweight supremacy and also, a unified junior lightweight title bout between Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner.
And, let’s just say that the ladies, who’ve had their bouts delayed by a month due to the death of Queen Elizabeth last month are “selling” what’s expected to happen in the ring. Observe here,
Can cut the tension with a đŞ#ShieldsMarshall x #MayerBaumgardner pic.twitter.com/lL0b7DSAyl
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 13, 2022
From the Top Rank Boxing press release:
“Thereâs unfinished business in the world of womenâs boxing, and it will finally be settled in a historic doubleheader this Saturday at The O2 Arena.
In the main event, two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields, the WBC/WBA/IBF/Ring Magazine middleweight champion, will face longtime rival and WBO titleholder Savannah Marshall. In the co-feature, WBO/IBF/Ring Magazine champion Mikaela Mayer and WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner will clash in a junior lightweight title unification fight.
This is what the fighters had to say at Thursday’s press conference.
⢠Claressa Shields
âWhen you work hard and you put in extra workâthatâs what builds confidence. People have fake confidence when they donât work hard and just show up to sell the fight. But I know what Iâm capable of, and I know what Iâm going to do on Saturday night.â
âOf course, weâve got to talk about her punching power. Sheâs going to try to come out there and land a big shot. She may want to fight on the inside or on the outside. But she just wants to be able to touch me and land. Thatâs really all I see. But itâs a boxing match. I may get hit in there, but if she thinks she wonât get hit, then sheâs mistaken. If she thinks she is a better boxer than me, sheâs mistaken.Â
âIâm not worried about Savannah Marshall. I came over here. Iâm a star in America. Donât get it twisted. I didnât have to come over here. Nobody was ever running from her. Nobody was ever scared to come over here and fight her. We said, âLetâs do it.â And you better punch as hard as you say you can. Because if you donât have any punching power, itâs going to be a hard night for you.â
⢠Savannah Marshall
âI think she will come up short. I believe Iâm a better boxer than Claressa. I believe I have always been. I cannot wait. Saturday couldnât come quick enough. We had a 12-week camp and a five-week pushback. Iâm just itching to get in there now.â
âShe can try to knock me out. But if youâve got it, then youâve got it. If you havenât got it, then you havenât. It is what it is. Why is it hard for you to knock someone out? If you land on someone, then you hurt them. If you land on them and youâve got pillow fists, then theyâre not going to go anywhere.â
âThereâs nothing left to say. I canât wait for Saturday. Letâs get it on.â
⢠Mikaela Mayer
âThis is huge for me. Iâve said that I wanted to become undisputed. Thereâs a reason why Iâve called out Alycia and why Iâve called out all the champions. I think that I have been pushing for the biggest fights possible. But honestly, I donât think you could have put a card like this five years ago. Itâs really shown how far womenâs boxing has come.â
âIâm expecting to deliver the performance of my life. Contrary to what sheâs saying, I am constantly getting better. I still donât even feel like Iâve hit my peak. I want to put it all together in this fight. I want to embarrass her. I want to make her sound stupid because she said a lot leading up to this fight.â
⢠Alycia Baumgardner
âThis fight is amazing for womenâs boxing. This is what weâve been waiting to have. The entertainment is at an all-time high. This is what is building the sport. This is what is building the sport of womenâs boxing. And now you have two women who donât care for each other and who are ready to bang it out Saturday night.â
âMy confidence is triggered by her. As I mentioned before, everyone who has fought her has come to fight her and go back home. She has a fighter in front of her who is willing to fight her, who is telling her what it is, that I will beat her, that I will break her jaw. Whatever it is, I am in her face. She does not like it. So, this is confidence that we are dealing with. Itâs not really an anger standpoint. Iâm a competitor at heart. Iâve been doing this since I was an eight-year-old girl. Iâm excited to be at this stage and to be in a unification fight this Saturday night.â
âThereâs no respect. At the end of the day, this is the fight game. This girl is trying to beat me. Iâm trying to beat here. I have great sportsmanship, but I donât respect her. She talks too much. And when somebody talks too much, youâve got to shut them up, and thatâs what Iâm going to do on Saturday night.â
Shields-Marshall and Mayer-Baumgardner will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN+
A veteran broadcaster of over 25 years, T.J. has been a fight fan longer than that! Heâs the host of the âBig Fight Weekendâ podcast and will go âtoe to toeâ with anyone who thinks that Marvin Hagler beat Sugar Ray Leonard or that Tyson, Lennox Lewis or Deontay Wilder could have beaten Ali!
