Will Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall be postponed in wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death?
Editor’s note: This article was updated with information regarding Friday’s weigh-in.
British news outlets are reporting that upcoming sporting events are likely to be postponed in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
The showdown between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall on Saturday at O2 Arena in London could be among the events that will have to be rescheduled.
Friday’s weigh-in reportedly was still scheduled to take place but it’s now closed to the public, although no announcement about the card itself was made as of Thursday evening in the U.S..
Members of Shields’ team and other U.S.-based organizers hadn’t learned the fate of the fight as of Thursday afternoon.
The Mirror reported that, “Boxing promoter BOXXER were also weighing up whether or not to cancel their historic all-female show at London’s O2 on [Saturday] night, which features Savannah Marshall’s clash with Claressa Shields for the women’s undisputed world middleweight title.”
However, according to Charlie Proctor of Royal Central, a news website that focuses on the British monarchy, all sporting, political and comedy events are off.
The Daily Star reported that the Shields-Marshall fight specifically “is likely to be postponed” but the British outlet cited no sources.
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.
Stay tuned for updates.