The death of Queen Elizabeth II has placed Saturday night’s middleweight unification bout between Claressa Shields 12-0 (2) and Savannah Marshall 12-0 (10) in jeopardy.
The pair were expected to meet at the O2 Arena in London, England of Saturday night, topping an all-female card.
But the death of a senior royal in the UK typically prompts sporting events to be cancelled.
Event promoter BOXXER issued a statement today: “News of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was received with great sadness by the athletes and staff of BOXXER today.
“Out of the deepest respect, Friday’s scheduled official weigh-ins for BOXXER – LEGACY: Shields vs Marshall, will now take place behind closed doors and will not be open to the media or to members of the public.
“An announcement regarding the status of Saturday’s event, at The O2 in London, will be made following consultation with relevant government and sports sector bodies and will be made at the earliest possible opportunity.
“This announcement will be made via Boxxer.com and the official BOXXER social media channels.
“The deepest sympathies of every BOXXER athlete and staff member are with the Royal Family and everyone affected by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
A final press conference to promote the fight was held on Thursday before the Queen’s death, once again proving there was no love lost between the pair.
“When I win on Saturday night, it will be a great victory,” WBC, WBA and IBF champion Shields said. “This isn’t my first time in a fight for the undisputed championship, this isn’t my first time having a hard training camp and it isn’t my first time being the underdog.
“I can’t wait to have the opportunity to silence the doubters about Savannah’s alleged knockout power… I’ve never seen someone live off an amateur win for 10 years of their career. I’ve dominated this sport for 10 years. I won the Olympics, then I won it again. Then I turned professional and won world titles from my fourth fight. Champions are not made, they’re born. And I was born to do this.”
“I’ve always respected Claressa, but she doesn’t like that I have an opinion,” WBO champion Marshall said. “I saw her box and I thought it was a diabolical performance. She ran down people’s throats that she was going to get a spectacular knockout and I watched it for 10 rounds, drifted off, and told her how I felt.
“I’ve never said I’m going to knock her out, I’ve said I’m going to hurt her. She’s a bully and she’s going to wake up on the canvas. I can’t wait to take all those belts off her and become the undisputed middleweight champion.”
Mikaela Mayer 17-0 (5) and Alycia Baumgardner 12-1 (7) are scheduled to box the co-main event.
“If this has to be a dog fight, I’ll win a dog fight. If it has to be a boxing match, I’ll win a boxing match. I can beat her any way the fight goes. I’m going to take her into deep waters, I’m going to take her to places she’s never been before,” IBF and WBO super featherweight champion Mayer said.
“This Saturday is really going to mark my spot in this sport, who I am as an athlete,” WBC champion Baumgardner said. “I was born for this, made for this, and this is my moment.”