Savannah Marshall retained her WBO middleweight title and moved a step closer to a seismic unification bout with Claressa Shields by knocking out Femke Hermans on Saturday.
Hartlepool fighter Marshall dropped her Belgian challenger in the final second of the third round, flooring Hermans with a short left hook to end the contest, retain her title and remain unbeaten at 12-0 with 10 knockouts. Marshall’s victory at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle was observed by Shields, the American watching on from the front row as Marshall handed Hermans the first stoppage loss of the Belgian’s career. Shields, meanwhile, previously went the distance with Hermans.
A unification bout between Marshall and unified champion Shields is now expected to take place this summer, with Boxxer chief Ben Shalom saying “late June, early July” is the target. Marshall told Sky Sports: “Claressa can’t handle my power. I believe I severely hurt Claressa.” Shields responded: “She’s gonna have trouble with me, and she’s definitely not gonna knock me out. Femke was able to make her miss, and I’m ten times faster than Femke, so what do you think I’m gonna do?”
Re-live updates from Savannah Marshall vs Femke Hermans and the event’s undercard, below.
