Hartlepool's Savannah Marshall reveals what continues to drive her following Claressa Shields defeat

The brisk winter sun has not long arisen but Marshall is drawn to a passer by standing adjacent, in awe with the camera on her phone at the ready.

“I never really watch boxing, but I watched your fight and you made everyone so proud,” says the voice of Marshall’s new doting fan.

Marshall, in turn, cracks a smile and acknowledges the woman, sharing a warm embrace and a picture for the album.

That picture may have been shown around the woman’s family, it may have been shared on social media and ‘liked’ many times over. But for Marshall, this is now becoming the norm.

And it’s a norm which will only continue to grow as she endeavours to fulfil her dream of becoming undisputed middleweight champion of the world.

It’s been two months since Marshall headlined London's O2 Arena with her long-time rival Claressa Shields. Two months to stew over the biggest night of her professional career. Two months to stew over the biggest, and only, loss of her professional career.

And yet as she braves the cold along the North East coastline, Marshall could be no further from the feeling of defeat you may expect to be submerged in her having lost a fight of such magnitude.

“It’s been a bit up and down,” Marshall says of October’s loss.

“Obviously I didn’t get the result but it’s a bit crazy because it’s like, although I’ve lost, I’ve won. The response I’ve got has been brilliant so I was able to bounce back pretty quickly.”

Marshall concludes her fan duties before admitting: “It’s lovely. It’s really nice. The whole of the North East got behind me which is something that I don't think has been seen, especially in female sport.”

But while fan support has helped Marshall to ease the pain of defeat to Shields, the Hartlepool fighter was also able to take herself out of the situation and completely reset.

The 31-year-old spent time in Borneo, Malaysia for a complete break from boxing and the rigmarole surrounding her face-off with Shields after what has been a gruelling period, mentally and physically.

In the aftermath of the fight, Marshall admitted she felt as though she spent ‘days’ in bed because of how exhausting the process was with what had been such an engulfing build over several months.

Like all of us, Marshall needed a break and that mental switch-off.

“It was unbelievable [to get away],” says Marshall.

“The thing was, when you’re talking to people and they ask you what you do and you tell them, it just makes you realise that, for me, boxing is my world.

“But for some people they’re just not interested. So from that point of view it was quite refreshing to hear that and not ‘you and Claressa Shields.’

But while Marshall used her time away as a clean break from this particular chapter with Shields, it allowed her to focus on what comes next with the focus now entirely centred around the next instalment of Marshall-Shields.

Once over, Marshall had anticipated she would be retired by the time she was 30-years-old. In the wake of her defeat, Shields even referenced Marshall’s deliberation in her own mind over a possible retirement.

But those thoughts of retirement appear lodged firmly at the back of Marshall’s mind as she reveals her yearning to become undisputed is what continues to drive her on.

“I’ve still got the same desires and the same hope,” says Marshall, a steely determination glistening in her eyes.

“I went away for a couple of weeks but I like training anyway. I’m one of them that will always train. So I’ve just been plodding along living life. I’m a bit bored now though.

“There’s a lot more opportunities that have come my way from that loss. Yeah, I probably would have got a lot more if I would have won, but I’m still moving forward, the opportunities are still there and I’m still yet to achieve my dream of becoming undisputed.”

Quite where, and when, that dream of becoming undisputed will happen remains open for debate. As we look out over the North Sea, Marshall remains hopeful a rematch with Shields can take place in the North East region, with Newcastle United's St James's Park in the running.

Shields, on the other hand, suggests those negotiations are much further apart than is perhaps led to believe with the Flint, Michigan 27-year-old adamant she will not throw down with Marshall again in the UK.

One thing which cannot be disputed however was the legacy which both Marshall and Shields left behind after their epic 10-round encounter.

Although Marshall lost the fight on all three of the judges’ scorecards, her place in female boxing history has already been cemented.

Marshall said: “There was an article in Boxing News that said something along the lines of British boxing really needed Savannah Marshall-Claressa Shields, so I think it definitely came at the right time and it definitely maybe salvaged a little bit of what British boxing has got left.”

But while Marshall and Shields was needed, in the wake of the collapse of Conor Benn’s bout with Chris Eubank Jr, it was also an occasion which lived up to its billing.

A sold-out O2 on the UK’s first ever all-female card, all of whom delivered. Both Marshall and Shields were given the glitz and the glam of a showcase entrance, Marshall accompanied by I’m a Celebrity winner Jill Scott, who she admits she did vote for to crown Queen of the Jungle, as Shields danced her way to the ring.

“Female boxing is up there now. Females are on all the top cards, the pay is getting better so it’s coming on leaps and bounds,” says Marshall.

“When I look back and see how far it’s come. It was only three or four years ago when female professional boxing wasn’t even a thing in the UK so it’s amazing how far it’s come.

“There’s football, there's rugby and even the World Cup with the female presenters. The world is really getting behind female sport at the minute.

“But we know, and broadcasters know, we can sell out an arena. We can get viewing figures like we did.”

Marshall has come a long way over the last two years since initially clinching middleweight glory in front of no fans during the COVID-19 era of boxing.

Two headline shows in Newcastle have followed, each with equally impressive victories, before her global bout with Shields. It’s been quite the rise to stardom for the girl who would cycle her way to gyms in Hartlepool and, on some occasions, be turned away for being female.

“It’s crazy,” she says.

“It’s been massive and it’s all down to promoters and broadcasters getting behind me and believing in me, that’s what it all boils down to.”

And that will only continue in 2023 as Marshall looks to get another shot at destiny and becoming undisputed champion of the world.