Claressa Shields Wins The ‘Real Combat Media Female Boxer’ of 2022 – Wants Marshall Rematch Next
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Flint, Michigan (December 24th, 2022)– Simultaneous two-division world champion boxer Claressa Shields has been named the Real Combat Media Female Boxer of the Year for 2022. Female world champions Katie Taylor, Natasha Jonas, Amanda Serrano, and Savannah Marshall took second, third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively, and are the Real Combat Media runner-ups.
Fifth place went to Savannah Marshall, 12-1 with 10 knockouts, Hartlepool, County Durham, United Kingdom, ‘The Silent Assassin’, the former WBO Female World Middleweight title holder, who lost her bid by unanimous decision to Shields for the unified IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO World Female Middleweight titles at 02 Arena in Greenwich in October 2022. Marshall has exercised the mandatory rematch in her original contract with Shields, and is entitled to a rematch sometime in 2023.
Fourth place went to Amanda Serrano, 43-2-1 with 30 knockouts, Brooklyn, New York, who lost a 10-round split decision challenging Taylor in April 2022, who defended her IBF, IBO, WBC, and WBO Female World Featherweight titles by 10-round unanimous decision over 11-0 Sarah Mahfoud at Manchester Arena in September 2022.
Third place went to Natasha Jonas, 13-2-1 with eight knockouts, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, who holds the Female IBF, WBC, and WBO World Super Welterweight titles, capturing the belts vacated by Shields with unanimous decision victories over 15-0 Patricia Berhuly at Echo Arena in Liverpool in September 2022, and 18-1 Marie Eve Dicaire at Manchester Arena in November 2022.
Second place went to Katie Taylor, 22-0 with six knockouts, Bray, Ireland, fighting out of Connecticut, the current IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO World Female Lightweight champion, for her wins by 10 round unanimous decision in defense of her titles over 42-1-1 Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden in April 2022, and Karen Elizabeth Carbajal at Wembley Arena in October 2022.
First place and Real Combat Media Fighter of the Year honors goes to the durable and electric Claressa Shields, 13-0 with two knockouts, Flint, Michigan, for her two unanimous decision wins over 21-0-1 Ema Kozin at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff in February 2022, and Savannah Marshall at 02 Arena in Greenwich in October 2022, in defense of her IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO World Middleweight titles. At the time, Shields became the first fighter, male or female, in professional boxing history to hold all four world titles in both the super welterweight and middleweight divisions, along with the Ring Magazine titles in both female divisions, a first which earned her the Real Combat Media first place distinction.
Shields has gained female boxing its greatest place in both publicity, history and prize money. Shields has a magnetic personality, which was upstaged only once, when her date with destiny with Marshall in Great Britain got upstaged and rescheduled due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Shields is as versatile in skill as she is strong in personality, and will fight anywhere, anyplace, anytime. Shields faces a mandatory rematch with Marshall in 2023 by contractual agreement, as Marshall has exercised her right to the rematch and invoked the rematch stipulation clause.
While Shields is the Real Combat Media Fighter of the Year 2022, The Real Combat Media Female Fight of the Year 2022 honors is a two-way tie, and goes to both Shields versus Marshall at 02 Arena, and Taylor versus Serrano at Madison Square Garden. Most certainly both of these female mega bouts were the modern day equivalent of Jack Johnson versus James Jeffries, Rocky Marciano versus Joe Louis, and Iron Mike Tyson versus Evander Holyfield II. Both female mega bouts got outstanding publicity and advanced the cause of female boxing to respectability and sufficient purses for the combatants beyond the point where it was previously in comparison to male boxing.
Both Claressa Shields versus Savannah Marshall II, and Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano II, should be coming up sometime in 2023, with even higher purses and greater publicity. The four boxers are also candidates for three-minute rounds at the championship level. Marshall, in a recent televised UK interview on Soccer AM, feels two-minute rounds are superior for female boxers, because there is a higher level of energy and intensity within the shorter rounds, versus longer rounds, which she feels tend to drag. Three-minute rounds with females, which this reporter has seen fought in the United States at the professional level before, would bring fighters like Claressa Shields, Savannah Marshall, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, and Natasha Jonas to a higher level of equality and respectability at the world-class level versus male professional boxing if they ascend to it. Could a world-class female boxing champion such as Claressa Shields ever be seen fighting a man in a middleweight pro bout? Considering the level of ability and intensity of Shields, it is possible in the future. Beyond a publicity stunt of male versus female, which will occur at some point, it would, of course, bring the three-minute rounds into play in such a high-level challenge.
Regarding Claressa Shields versus Savannah Marshall II, Marshall stated in her recent UK televised interview, the face of the wider rise of female sports in England, she still does not like Shields, inferring there remains significant ‘bad blood’ between the two of them. That sort of emotional ‘bad blood’ should generate the sort of volatile publicity to make the rematch take off.
Marshall wants to bring the rematch back to the United Kingdom in 2023 at Newcastle’s St. James Park. World Female Super Middleweight champion Natasha ‘Tasha’ Jonas remains the other immediate option for Shields to defend her titles next in 2023 if Marshall is not next. “I’ve activated the rematch clause. I know Sky and Boxxer are really keen on getting the fight at St James’ Park,” stated Marshall. St. James’ Park is the home to the Premier League’s Newcastle United Football Club. Three of her five bouts prior to fighting Claressa Shields were at Newcastle Arena.
Promoter Ben Shalom says the Claressa Shields versus Savannah Marshall rematch in 2022 will be the biggest fight in women’s boxing history. According to Ben Shalom, “There definitely is the possibility to see Shields versus Jonas, without a doubt, Tasha wants the biggest names, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Claressa Shields. Tasha’s got three (female world title) belts now and she’s popular, her profile’s big, and she’s a (big) money fight for a lot of (female) fighters. So she (Tasha) has got one or two (big female world title) fights left. She just wants the biggest names, and the Claressa Shields fight could happen. We’ll chat with her (Natasha Jonas) next week. She will fight (next) in March (2023). It definitely will be a very big fight, and we’ll make a decision (as to who Natasha Jones will fight next) in the next few weeks.”
Claressa Shields, a two-time female Olympic Gold medalist, has accepted the 2023 rematch challenge from Savannah Marshall, however not on British soil though. “(The rematch) fight won’t be in the United Kingdom. But yes, I accept her challenge!” Shields confirmed.
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