Claressa Shields’ promoter remains hopeful that she and
Savannah Marshall will fight again.
Dmitriy Salita told
The Ring that Shields’ side is open to making their rematch next if Shields and Marshall win their scheduled fights in July. The undefeated Shields — a five-division champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist from Flint, Michigan — and England’s Marshall have expressed mutual interest in a second showdown.
Shields defeated Marshall by unanimous decision in their 10-round middleweight title unification fight in October 2022 at O2 Arena in London.
“We’re always open to do business,” Salita said. “And from our company’s point of view, we’ve shown we do business with everyone in the sport. That’s our motto. We certainly would welcome, down the road, an opportunity, if it makes sense, for Claressa to fight Savannah in a rematch. We’ve always been open about making the rematch with Savannah. One of the requirements was that it has to happen in the United States.”
The Ring first reported Tuesday that Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs), who owns The Ring and IBF super middleweight titles, will square off against Shadasia Green (15-1, 11 KOs), the WBO champ, in a 10-round, 168-pound championship unification fight July 11 in New York. Netflix will stream Marshall-Green as part of the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano undercard from Madison Square Garden.
Two weeks later, Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) is set to defend her Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight crowns against New Zealand’s Lani Daniels (11-2-2, 1 KO). DAZN will stream Shields-Daniels as a main event July 26 from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Marshall’s fight against Green will mark her debut with Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions, which announced her signing Monday.
Marshall, 33, is the only opponent who has defeated Shields, 30, in an amateur or professional boxing match. Shields avenged that defeat 2½ years ago, but Marshall was the most competitive of her 16 pro opponents.
Marshall, a part-time mixed martial arts fighter, will end a two-year layoff from boxing when she faces Green. She has boxed only once since Shields defeated her.
Shields has won three bouts since she fended off Marshall in their fight for The Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight titles.
The Ring rates Shields No. 1 on its women’s pound-for-pound list. Marshall isn’t on that list due to her inactivity.
“Claressa has shown throughout her career that she will take the biggest fights against the best fighters,” Salita said. “Look at her resume. A perfect case in point is when she traveled thousands of miles from home to fight Savannah Marshall in London. That was the most-watched women’s sporting event ever on Sky [Sports], not just a boxing match. And now the timing is right for their rematch.
“Claressa’s movie [The Fire Inside] was just shown in movie theaters not just in the United States, but throughout the whole world. And obviously, Savannah Marshall is in that movie as her rival. So, that rematch makes a lot of sense. And certainly, [Marshall] fighting in the U.S. gives us the possibility to gain more interest.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing