Savannah Marshall got past an imposing American this time.
The English fighter, coming off a loss to pound-for-pound queen Claressa Shields at 160 pounds, bounced back by outpointing Franchon Crews-Dezurn to take her undisputed 168-pound championship Saturday in Manchester, England.
One judge scored it a 95-95 draw but the other two had Marshall winning, 99-92 and 97-93. Boxing Junkie also had it 97-93 for Marshall, seven rounds to three.
The moment Savannah Marshall was crowned UNDISPUTED champion đź‘‘
✨@Savmarshall1| @boxxer ✨ pic.twitter.com/hrtNKAwqMm
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) July 1, 2023
“Sweet dreams,” a beaming Mashall said afterward. “I can’t describe how I’m feeling at the minute.”
Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs) had to contend with the sublime skill set of Shields in October, when she lost a unanimous decision and her middleweight belt in London. She had to cope with brute strength against Crews-Dezurn.
The Baltimore fighter maintained pressure on Marshall the entire fight, bulling her way inside and often roughing up Marshall in a fight that quickly became an ugly combination of wrestling and boxing.
The problem for Crews-Dezurn was that she didn’t get much done when the fighters were close to one another, as they almost invariably ended up in a clinch that hard-working referee Victor Loughlin had to break up.
Meanwhile, Marshall, the better boxer of the two, did a good job of landing sharp, accurate punches when she had room to do so. She clearly landed the cleaner shots, which would account for the scoring in her favor.
Afterward, she acknowledged that she had engaged in a physically demanding fight when she was asked whether it was as hard as it looked.
“Even harder,” she said. “I think I broke my hand on her head. She’s a tough, tough woman.”
Marshall would like another tough test next: A second shot at Shields, although Shadasia Green is the new champion’s mandatory challenger in two of the four major sanctioning bodies.
Marshall made it clear multiple times before the fight on Saturday and in the ring afterward that she wants a rematch, although this time at 168 because she can no longer make 160. In fact, she said directly to Shields, who was in Manchester to support Crews-Dezurn, “Let’s get it on at 168.”
Shields hasn’t expressed eagerness to face Marshall again. However, a second fight would be lucrative and the opportunity to fight for another undisputed championship could be enticing for Shields.
Marshall’s promoter, Ben Shalom, seemed to say he would target Shields and made it clear that the American star would have to move up in weight, although Shields beat Crews-Dezurn at 168 in 2016 and held two titles in the division in 2017 and 2018.
“What’s next? I think we know,” Shalom said. “… I think it has to be at super middleweight. That’s where Savannah is the best fighter in world, we believe. That’s where the rematch has to happen.”