Savannah Marshall given new Newcastle date as she eyes Claressa Shields megafight

Savannah Marshall’s defence of her WBO world middleweight title against former champion Femke Hermans a new date.
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The bout has moved to Saturday, April 2 and will headline an all-action event airing live and exclusively in the UK on Sky Sports.

The show, previously scheduled for March, will be a co-promotion with Wasserman Boxing and will take place at Newcastle Utilita Arena, which in October hosted Hartlepool-born Marshall’s stunning second-round stoppage of Lolita Muzeya.

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That win maintained Marshall’s undefeated record, extended her run of stoppage wins to seven and kept the WBO World Championship belt around her waist.

Savannah Marshall after her WBO world middleweight title defence against Maria Lindberg.Savannah Marshall after her WBO world middleweight title defence against Maria Lindberg.
Savannah Marshall after her WBO world middleweight title defence against Maria Lindberg.

Earlier this month, Marshall was in Cardiff to watch bitter American rival Claressa Shields defend her world championship titles against Ema Kozin by unanimous decision.

When the American star exited the ring, she and Marshall became embroiled in a war of words, raising tensions between the two to fever pitch.

Marshall must now ensure she defeats the dangerous Hermans (12-3, 5 KO’s), the current EBU European champion, to set up one of the most long-awaited showdowns in recent memory and the biggest fight in the history of women’s professional boxing.

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Belgium’s Hermans is a tough and experienced operator who previously took Shields the distance when she challenged her for the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF World middleweight titles in 2018 and will be hoping to secure a rematch if she can beat Marshall in Newcastle.

Marshall said: “I'm really happy to be going back to Newcastle Utilita Arena after the amazing reception I received there last time.

“Femke is a very tough girl and it's going to be a hard night's work but I'm really looking forward to putting on a show.

"I'm sorry to anyone who has been inconvenienced by the date change but I hope everyone who wants to be there can still be there. I really can't wait.”

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Also confirmed for Newcastle is Florian Marku (10-0, 6 KO’s), competing in what will be the first bout of his new exclusive contract with BOXXER, in a key domestic encounter with former British and Commonwealth Champion Chris Jenkins (23-4, 8 KO’s).

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