Claressa Shields defeated Savannah Marshall by a unanimous decision to become undisputed middleweight champion.
The official scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94. Boxing Junkie scored it 96-94 for Shields (13-0, 2 KOs).
Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) pushed the action, often smothering Shields with punches and pushing her against the ropes. However, Shields withstood the storm round after round and landed the cleaner shots, which evidently impressed the judges.
Neither fighter was hurt in the fight.
You can read a full report here.
Round 10
They fought their hearts out. The last round was another close round. Marshall might’ve been a little busier but Shield’s landed some eye-catching shots. No idea how the judges are going to score this fight.
Round 9
Same story. Back and forth, both fighters having some success. Marshall might be edging these rounds because she’s pushing the action, she’s the one moving forward. That is often rewarded.
Round 8
Tough round to score. Both fighters threw punches from beginning to end. And both had similar success. This fight has become difficult to score. It will be interesting to see how the judges score it.
Round 7
The body language is favoring Marshall. She’s pushing Shields backward, pounding her against the ropes. Shields is fighting back — with some success — but Marshall is just relentless right now.
Round 6
Good round for Marshall. She imposed herself on Shields, who resorted to holding several times. Marshall is still throwing a lot of punches, which might be getting to Shields. Still, the round was competitive.
Round 5
Great toe-to-toe action that round, with both fighters throwing nonstop. Both of them had their moments but I still think Shields is landing the crisper, more damaging shots. That was a close round, though.
Round 4
Shields continues to get the better of exchanges but Marshall might be compensating by throwing a high volume of punches. She’s still all over Shields. Shields is handling the pressure well, though.
Round 3
Somewhat better round for Marshall, who’s trying to smother Shields in punches. And she’s landing some. Shields wasn’t quite as active but she still landed some clean, eye-catching shots. Close round.
Round 2
Another good round for Shields. She’s outboxing Marshall and landed the more accurate, cleaner shots. Marshall is busy but I’m not sure how many of her punches are landing. She did connect on one good right hand early.
Round 1
Big round for Shields. Neither fighter did much for the first minute and then Shields exploded, throwing a barrage of hard shots. Many landed. Marshall took them well. And the Briton bounced back to finish the round strong.
***
Here we go.
Marshall is in the ring. Huge support from her home-country fans. Shields is making her walk to boos.
***
Alycia Baumgardner defeated Mikaela Mayer by a split decision to unify three of the four 130-pound titles.
Two judges had the same score, 96-95 for Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs). The third judge had Mayer (17-1, 5 KOs) winning 97-93.
You can read a full Baumgardner-Mayer report here.
***
The Mikaela Mayer-Alycia Baumgardner co-feature is next up in London. The fighters are making their way to the ring.
***
Amateur rivals Claressa Shields (12-0, 2 KOs) and Savannah Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) will fight for the undisputed middleweight championship Saturday at O2 Arena in London (ESPN+).
Also, Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) will face Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) in a junior lightweight title-unification bout.
The card will begin at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
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