Hartlepool's Savannah Marshall loses to Claressa Shields by unanimous decision in Boxxer's all-female event

Marshall and Shields went toe-to-toe for 10 pulsating rounds of boxing in front of a raucous, sell-out, O2 crowd but would come up agonisingly short on the judges scorecard with two judges scoring the bout in favour of Shields 97-93 and the other 96-94.

In the build up to the fight, Shields suggested she would ‘walk out of the O2 with Marshall’s head’ in reference to being David walking into the lion’s den but Marshall ensured the American knew she was in a contest as the pair exchanged blow after blow in a gripping encounter.

Roared on by the home crowd, Marshall paced around the ring in wait of the lavish arrival of Shields - an entrance befitting of such an occasion as an all-female card shined a much-needed positive light onto the world of boxing.

And from the very first bell Marshall and Shields went head-to-head in the centre of the ring in a blockbuster opening two minutes.

Marshall had to withstand more punishment than ever before in her professional career as Shields demonstrated she is more than just the pre-fight talk.

To her credit, Marshall hit back and stunned Shields to close out the round to ignite the crowd once more.

And round two started in much the same way as Marshall drove forward trying to bring the fight to Shields - but the impressive Shields showed why she has just one loss on her resume throughout her entire career as she caught Marshall with a fine uppercut.

Marshall continued to look for an opening by working the left jab into a position where she could unleash her power but the savvy Shields remained alert and proved masterful in her evasion and counter-punching at times.

But while Shields may have landed the round closing shots, it was Marshall who continued to be the aggressor for much of the bout until Shields caught Marshall with a shot to the body which visibly winced the Hartlepool fighter.

But Marshall would not be moved in her forward thinking approach as she backed Shields up onto the ropes with the fight finally beginning to settle into a rhythm at the midway point.

Marshall was able to land a number of combination shots on Shields in the latter stages of the fight, but where in previous fights she has been able to close out contests, Shields was able to land a shot just when she needed one - notably with the left hand.

Both fighters gave everything they had left in the tank to see out a stunning contest - one worthy of main-eventing any card.

But in the end it was Shields who had her arm raised - much to the disapproval of the O2 - as she was able to avenge her defeat to Marshall from 10 years ago.

The co-main event saw Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner throw down to unify women’s super-featherweight titles in a contest which held just as much bad-blood heading into things as Marshall squaring off with Shields

And the undefeated Mayer had to withstand pressure in round two before both exchanged blows in the third.

Mayer asserted herself in the fourth landing a number of shots on Baumgardner and taking the centre of the ring as the 28-year-old began to lose the spark of her early fight showing.

Mayer continued in the ascendancy until Baumgardner sparked into life in the seventh which saw a clash of heads amid a flurry from Baumgardner giving Mayer both a cut above the eye and something to think about.

But the undefeated Mayer appeared to re-establish the order in the closing rounds with control and consistency to her punches until both landed a number of heavy blows to finish the fight.

Despite Mayer appearing to shade a hard-fought bout, it was Baumgardner who took things on the judges cards via split decision with Baumgardner edging things by one on two scorecards to inflict Mayer’s first professional defeat.

Elsewhere on the card, Sarah Liegmann beat Bec Connolly on points in a six-round super-bantamweight bout to open the first ever all-female card before Ginny Fuchs achieved similar over Gemma Ruegg.

Durham’s Georgia O’Connor scored an impressive victory over Joyce van Ee in the third bout of the night before Shannon Ryan had to settle for a points victory over Bucha El Quassi.

Marshall could be seen watching on intently from her dressing room in support of stablemate April Hunter who secured a convincing victory over Erica Alvarez while 2020 Olympic gold medallist Lauren Price stopped Timea Belik in the fourth.

But the night belonged to Marshall, even in defeat, as her and Shields gave boxing a night to remember.

Heading into the week, Marshall described her encounter with Shields as an ‘all or nothing’ bout but if this is what ‘nothing’ looks like then we should all be shown where to sign up.

For a woman who revealed she suffered with crippling shyness, turning bright red at even hearing her name called as a young girl growing up, Marshall has transcended into a sporting superstar.

Her fight week demeanour has been one of inspiring confidence - for we’ve all been that person who shies away from being involved.

But Marshall has gone beyond that. She has gone beyond those anxieties and those who turned their nose up at her when she first set foot into a gym as a young girl.

She has gone from that rejection to headlining one of the most historic events in boxing at a capacity O2 Arena in London.

And while congratulations must go to Shields, that is certainly not nothing. And she will be welcomed back to the town of Hartlepool with open arms.