How Briton Savannah Marshall recovered from devastating loss to Claressa Shields

The last doorbell chimed 3 times. Savannah Marshall raised some arms, successful anticipation alternatively than with immoderate existent conviction.

"I knew she'd won but I thought: I'm connected location turf, a batch of the rounds were close, I felt similar it possibly it could person gone either way," Marshall tells BBC Sport.

All 3 judges saw it successful American Shields' favour. Marshall suffered a archetypal vocation defeat, losing her middleweight satellite rubric and an accidental to go undisputed champion.

Marshall felt deflated. Battle scars were accompanied by deeper affectional wounds.

"I was truthful disappointed. I really, truly wanted to win. I did everything I could," the 32-year-old adds.

"I retrieve reasoning that if I'd had the hitch of the greenish I mightiness person scraped a draw, but the close pistillate won and I can't sound the result.

"But it was that small spot harder to instrumentality that it was against Claressa and the information we don't get on."

After the obligatory post-fight interviews and a warmish clasp with Shields, Marshall was summoned implicit to a ringside spot by undisputed super-middleweight Franchon Crews-Dezurn. The brace exchanged words; the speech ended successful a fist bump.

"She said: Come to super-middleweight and I'll springiness you a shot," Marshall explains.

After immoderate clip retired of the ring, she took up the American's offer. Marshall volition situation Crews-Dezurn astatine Manchester's AO Arena connected Saturday.

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She has a 2nd consecutive accidental to go a four-belt champion, and the accidental to triumph satellite titles successful 2 value divisions - adding super-middleweight occurrence to the WBO middleweight loop she held from 2020 to 2022.

A back-to-back nonaccomplishment connected the large stage, however, could spell status for 'The Silent Assassin'.

'I had to merchantability the Shields fight'

In a decorated amateur career, which includes 2 Olympic golden medals, Shields' lone boxing nonaccomplishment was to Marshall astatine the 2012 World Championships.

Their rematch, a decennary later, captured the imagination of the wider sporting public.

The usually reserved and softly spoken Marshall recovered her dependable successful the build-up. British sarcasm and wit, specified arsenic inviting Shields retired for a coffee, went implicit the Michigan fighter's head.

Shields - who goes by the alias 'Greatest Woman of All Time' - created her ain viral moments. Her effort astatine doing a Hartlepool accent was acold from perfect, but drew large laughs.

There appeared to beryllium genuine animosity, but Marshall says she has nary sick feeling towards Shields and the pre-fight hype was precisely that: hype.

"I had to merchantability that fight," she says. "It was the archetypal clip it was an all-female card. I knew however large combat that could be. I knew for years.

"The clash of personalities. America v Great Britain. It's what got truthful galore radical connected board. People sided with her due to the fact that she's cocky and confident. People sided with maine due to the fact that I was quiet."

'Retirement was 100% connected my mind'

After years of build-up, anticipation and societal media spats, the rematch was each implicit aft conscionable 20 minutes of action.

But, instantly aft the fight, Marshall had small clip to dwell excessively overmuch connected the defeat.

"It was each a brainsick whirlwind," she says. "I had to spell to the doctors, past I got cause tested, past it was the property conference.

"I retrieve getting backmost to the edifice astatine 3am and I was level out. You'd deliberation I would beryllium up each night, but I was conscionable retired until the adjacent day."

Marshall downplays the bequest created by her contention with Shields, arguably 1 of the astir talked astir pistillate boxing fights successful history.

"The world is that bequest doesn't truly exist. The adjacent large amusement is connected and everyone is past talking astir that," she says.

"Before you cognize it, it's astir a twelvemonth since maine and Claressa boxed. The adjacent procreation won't adjacent cognize astir that fight."

When a rematch could not beryllium negotiated, with Marshall saying Shields "outpriced herself", the Briton took a four-month interruption from grooming and contemplated hanging up the gloves.

"Retirement was 100% connected my mind," she says. "I'd boxed the champion successful the world. I'd been beat. I wanted to beryllium the champion myself, truthful what bash I privation to bash now? Do I inactive privation to box?

"The world of it is that I've been boxing for 20-plus years and determination comes a clip wherever I thought: If I don't get a rematch, past wherever bash I go?"

Another wound astatine the undisputed cherry

Crews-Dezurn welcomed the combat with Marshall aft being ringside for her decision by Shields

When the connection to combat Crews-Dezurn came in, Marshall decided to "give it different crack" and was presented an accidental to make different portion of history.

"Franchon isn't stupid," Marshall says. "She's a businesswoman. She conscionable saw maine capable retired the O2 Arena and wanted a portion of it. She besides knew I was her biggest payday.

"I'm present going to beryllium the archetypal British pistillate to header 2 arenas. That's thing to outcry about."

Crews-Dezurn, 36, has lone mislaid erstwhile - a debut decision by Shields successful 2016 - successful 9 nonrecreational bouts.

The Baltimore combatant is rather the personality. A erstwhile American Idol contestant, her acapella rendition of Queen's We Are The Champions successful the build-up entertained a giggling Marshall.

The brace exchanged respective words astatine Thursday's highly charged quality conference, overmuch of it surrounding Marshall's nonaccomplishment to Shields.

In fact, Shields has formed a agelong shadiness implicit combat week - successful the bulk of interviews, her sanction has been mentioned.

Marshall insists her afloat attraction is connected the task up but - with Shields successful attendance connected Saturday - admits the rematch is connected her mind.

The value difference, though, whitethorn beryllium to beryllium an obstacle.

"I deliberation we volition combat again," Marshall says. "But could I marque middleweight again? Those are conversations we volition person to person successful the future."