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Savannah Marshall intends to bounce back from her high-profile loss to Claressa Shields against the undisputed super-middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn.
Marshall will challenge Crews-Dezurn for the unified WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF world titles at the AO Arena in Manchester on the June 17 Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr Sky Sports Box Office bill.
Marshall and Crews-Dezurn have an opponent in common. Shields is the only professional boxer to have beaten each of them.
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Savannah Marshall admits her defeat to Claressa Shields was ‘hard to take’, but is determined to come back stronger in her next fight against Franchon Crews-Dezurn
Marshall beat Shields in an amateur contest over a decade ago and the two have had a bitter rivalry ever since, which culminated in their epic title fight last year.
In a lower-key occasion, Crews-Dezurn stepped in to box fellow American Shields in a pro debut for both of them in 2016.
Crews-Dezurn however had a warning for Marshall.
“The difference is she had 10 years, 10 months and 10 rounds to prepare for Claressa Shields. Myself, I had two and a half weeks and Claressa is that good so I give her credit there. But for me I’m just a different animal,” the champion told Sky Sports News.
Marshall and Crews-Dezurn faced one another to record The Gloves Are Off ahead of their June 17 world title fight.
“Going down to middleweight [for Marshall’s previous title fights] made her a weight bully,” Crews-Dezurn said afterwards.
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The ill-feeling between Savannah Marshall and Franchon Crews-Dezurn came to a head at the end of the press-conference
“But I’m a true super-middleweight and I feel like she’ll feel the difference in power, physicality and everything. It’s going to be fun. She knows.
“The difference will be just facing me.”
The American also emphasised that her talents extended beyond boxing, even bursting into song live on Sky Sports News.
“I design my own boxing apparel. I sing. I songwrite. I’m actually a co-promoter on this fight,” Crews-Dezurn said.
“You only live life once. I’m an undisputed champion fighting around the world. I know I’ve got a couple of fans out in the UK. Who knows, I might walk out and sing.”
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Undisputed champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn sent a strong message to challenger Savannah Marshall
On that front at least, Marshall does not intend to compete with her American rival.
“I’m not a singer,” Marshall said, but joked: “Give me a couple of vodkas and we’ll see.”
She will though relish the boxing contest with Crews-Dezurn.
“She’s tough, strong, physical, plenty of heart, it will be a good night,” Marshall said.
It could be just the fight Marshall needs, after coming to terms with a loss to Shields that was difficult to accept.
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Savannah Marshall says she’s looking forward to moving up in weight to face Franchon Crews-Dezurn and has called the fight a ‘show-stealer’
“It was really painful, I was 100 per cent confident going into that fight,” Marshall explained. “Although Claressa is a world-class fighter, she really performed, I saw the best Claressa I’ve ever seen.
“It was hard to take, a bitter pill to swallow particularly because we aren’t the best of friends.”
But she added: “It’s how you come back, isn’t it?”
The comeback for Marshall starts on June 17.
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