SHADASIA Green dished out a harsh welcome back present to Savannah Marshall, ensuring her two-year absence from the boxing ring was felt, after 10 tough rounds in New York. Last seen boxing Franchon Crews Dezurn in a Manchester Arena battle for undisputed, Marshall had kept hold of the IBF belt, despite her foray into the world of MMA.
That title, along with her old WBO super-middleweight belt, which Green picked up in the interim, is no longer around Marshall’s waist. A mid-fight strategy correction from Green saw her snatch a split verdict. Tom Shreck scored it 95-94 to Green, alongside Martha Tremblay, who went 96-93. Max DeLuca saw it the other way, 96-93 to Marshall.
The early rounds were messy as both women leaned and reached, leading to clumsy mauls rather than clean exchanges. In the absence of Peter Fury in the corner, West Midlands veteran Jon Pegg took charge, imploring Marshall to double up the jab, with no singles allowed.
In round two, referee Thomas Taylor gave the Hartlepool woman a ticking off for rabbit punching, before Green got a stern warning for repeated holding.
A point was finally docked in round four from Shadasia, much to the annoyance of the crowd. Netflix analyst Andre Ward, who was never shy of a cling and grab himself, felt that the holding had not been excessive from the ‘Sweet Terminator’.
Green finally landed a big shot in the fifth round, hurting Marshall, who grinned but needed to do a little holding of her own to see out the session. It was a cuffing right hand that landed around Savannah’s ear, causing the trouble.
By round eight, the tide had turned. Not only was Green getting her jab off, but she was able to counter-punch Marshall as the English woman got tired and fell inside. The cards were likely tightened up by the ninth. Marshall’s jab and head movement appeared to have seen her through the last couple.
Now 16-1 (11 KOs) as a pro, an emotional Shadasia Green spoke afterwards of her 20-year journey to get to the top. “All I wanted was a fair fight, come on!” retorted Savannah Marshall, who complimented Green’s punching power, as she dropped to 13-2 (10 KOs).
