Hartlepool's Savannah Marshall set for boxing return at New York's Maddison Square Garden

The Silent Assassin last set foot in the ring on July 1, 2023 when she beat Franchon Crews-Dezurn by a majority decision at the Manchester Arena to become the super-middleweight world champion.

After that, the 34-year-old turned her attention to MMA, partly in pursuit of a rematch with her long-time rival Claressa Shields - a fight Marshall now admits might never happen. Shields inflicted the one and only defeat of Marshall's boxing career when the two met at the O2 Arena in October 2022, with the American winning thanks to a unanimous decision on a momentous night for women's boxing and the sport in general; the fight was the first time two female boxers had headlined at a major venue in the UK.

Shields, who remains unbeaten in the ring, has also fought three bouts in mixed martial arts, winning twice but losing out against Abigail Montes. She announced her retirement from MMA last month and is set to box Lani Daniels on July 26. Shields returned to the ring in February this year, beating Danielle Perkins to become the undisputed heavyweight champion; she is now the undisputed champion in three separate weight classes, the first person, male or female, to achieve the feat in the four-belt era.

Marshall, meanwhile, made her MMA debut last year in Newcastle, stopping Mirela Vargas in the first round. However, she signed for Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions in May 2025 and is set to return to the ring at New York's Maddison Square Garden to take on WBO champion Shadasia Green, who has won 15 of her 16 career fights.

While some fans might be wondering whether the Hartlepool-born boxer will be a little ring rusty when she makes her return this evening, Green said she's preparing for "the best Savannah Marshall ever".

For her part, Marshall admits it has taken some time to readjust to life in the ring following her spell in the octagon but insists she's prepared ahead of her big fight with Green, which will be broadcast live on Netflix as part of the undercard for the monumental third bout between Ireland's Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico's Amanda Serrano.

"It's a very, very long time, but it's not like I've had two years sitting on the couch," Marshall said.

"I've been in the gym, I've competed in MMA, so I've been active, I've been fit and, yeah, it was hard coming back to boxing.

"The stance, everything's different, but look, I've boxed for a very long time, so muscle memory soon kicked in.

"To be honest me and Shadasia were meant to fight a while ago. It's been two or three times it's been close, we've been mentioned in the same conversation.

"So for it to follow an all female bill and not only that on Netflix, is massive."