The status of the Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall all-woman card scheduled Saturday in London remained up in the air Thursday in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death.
BOXXER, the lead promoter of the Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall card scheduled for Saturday in London, confirmed that Friday’s weigh-in would take place but fans and media will no longer be allowed to attend.
And it indicated that a decision on the fate of the card itself would be made after meetings with government and sports organizations.
The statement read:
“News of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was received with great sadness by the athletes and staff of BOXXER today. Out of the deepest respect, Friday’s scheduled official weigh-ins for BOXXER — LEGACY: Shields vs Marshall, will now take place behind closed doors and will not be open to the media or to members of the public.
“An announcement regarding the status of Saturday’s event, at The O2 in London, will be made following consultation with relevant government and sports sector bodies and will be made at the earliest possible opportunity. This announcement will be made via Boxxer.com and the official BOXXER social media channels.
“The deepest sympathies of every BOXXER athlete and staff member are with the Royal Family and everyone affected by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
Many sporting events have already been postponed, according to multiple reports. Among them: Europa League soccer, BWM PGA Championship, horse racing at Southwell and Chelmsford, the Northampton-Saracens rugby match, an England vs. South Africa cricket competition and more.
Shields and Marshall, who is English, were set to fight for the undisputed middleweight championship, a decade after Marshall became the only boxer to defeat Shields — amateur or professional..
Marshall, 21 at the time, outpointed a 17-year-old Shields at the 2012 AIBA World Championships. Shields went on to win two Olympic gold medals and major titles in three divisions at a pro.
Marshall also became a world champion in 2020.