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There's no love lost between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall.
The two female middleweight champions are set to face off in September. The winner will be the undisputed unified 165-pound champion. Heading into the matchup, both feel extremely confident.
Their confidence has shown in their recent appearances. Following Shields and Marshall's most recent victory, the opposing fighter was there to talk trash and build a possible fight between the two.
Earlier today, Shields and Marshall attended their first press conference for their megabout in September. The two didn't waste any time getting after it and trading insults. Marshall leaned hard on the fact that she beat Shields previously, starting the presser by stating:
“I’m actually a fan of Claressa Shields. She’s a pioneer, and what she has done for the sport has been amazing. But the reality is, she doesn’t beat me. She didn’t before, and she won’t again. And it kills her. It absolutely burns her inside, the fact that I beat her and I’ll beat her again."
Shields then hit back at Marshall, claiming she hasn't accomplished much in her career. She stated:
"It burns inside of you that I have two Olympic gold medals and you have zero. That's why you kept begging for the fight, saying 'I can beat her!' What else have you done to sell yourself? What else have you done in your career besides bragging about beating me ten years ago?"
Watch Shields and Marshall trade insults below:
Savannah Marshall defeated Claressa Shields before
A big reason behind the ongoing rivalry between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields has to do with a 2012 fight between the two.
Years before either woman was a professional boxer, they were extremely accomplished amateur boxers. To date, Shields has only lost once, in either a professional or amateur contest.
That loss came against Savannah Marshall in 2012, as the Brit outboxed the American en route to a victory. Despite the fight happening a decade ago, the bout is still present in both women's minds. Hence, 'Silent Assassin' posted about the victory earlier this year.
See Savannah Marshall's post about her win over Claressa Shields below:
However, the fight was indeed over a decade ago and both have grown tremendously since then. While the first outing might've been a one-sided win for Marshall, there's no doubt the rematch will unfold much differently in September.
