Savannah Marshall Defeats Femke Hermans to Secure Shields Showdown!
In her latest dust-up, UK boxer and WBO middleweight champion Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall (11-0, 9 KO’s) made the successful third defense of her title. To do so, she collected the scalp of Belgian boxer Femke Hermans (12-3, 5 KO’s) by way of unanimous decision. It was a critical win as it set up a very highly anticipated showdown between Marshall and two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-division undisputed champion Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (12-0, 2 KO’s). Marshall, 30, and Shields, 27, have harbored a bitter rivalry dating back to their amateur careers when the Silent Assassin became the only person to defeat her in the pro’s or amateur.
Understandably, T-Rex has wanted her pound of flesh ever since. As a result, the two have woofed back and forth with one another for the past several years. Despite their frequent spats, no fight has materialized until now. Honestly speaking though, to this point its been Team Marshall who slowed production on the bout to seemingly allow Marshall to develop further as a professional. Now that all the talk and maturation process has been completed, it appears that the two will collide in their next at bat.
Yet, for it to take place, Marshall had to take care of business, as she did, with Hermans. To be honest though, this was not the hardest outcome to predict. Hermans was riding a three-fight win streak since suffering back-to-back defeats to Elin Cederroos and the aforementioned Claressa Shields. But those three opponents had an unimpressive combined record of 15-63-4. Nevertheless, now that she has been run over and flattened, the much bigger and more meaningful bout between Shields and Marshall can take place.
ONE-HITTER QUITTER
Marshall opened the fight looking loose and largely controlling the fight with her length and pesky, range-finding jab. During the second period, Hermans was able to slip notably more shots and even catch Marshall with a couple of counter-overhand rights of her own. Despite the better second round, Hermans’ night came to a sudden crushing end in the third when the Silent Assassin caught her with a single, devastating left hook.
The instant the punch landed, Hermans crumbled in the corner where she lay flat on her back for several moments. Seeing how she was staring at the lights, referee Howard Foster quickly called off the bout. With the win, the boxing world should now be treated to an intriguing battle between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields this summer!
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By: Bakari Simpson
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