Claressa Shields has claimed Savannah Marshall is "terrified" of a blockbuster fight between the pair. 

Shields, who currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles, is hoping WBO middleweight champion Marshall does not back out of their bout. 

According to Metro.co.uk, the fight is close to being confirmed for July. But Shields is not convinced her opponent wants to take part. 

"I am already fully prepared to win this fight and to go to the UK to fight her,” she said. “I have been telling people for years, she is terrified of me. 

“No matter how many girls she has knocked out or what her record may show, she knows I am a different kind of animal and she is not able to knock me out or walk all over me. It is going to be the toughest fight of her life.”

The American has fought Marshall once before, losing to the British star at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2012.

As a result, Marshall is the only competitor to beat Shields at any level in boxing so far.

“That win when I was 17 is where her confidence comes from,” Shields said. “I have already proven that I am better than her, with my two Olympic gold medals, my world championships, my world titles in three divisions.

“I am hoping it is going to be this summer because I have other things I want to do before the end of the year.”

“I don’t have time to be waiting around for Savannah Marshall to show up,” she said. “I have got business to attend to in MMA in 2023 and then I am getting married in 2024. 

“So I don’t really have time to wait for ‘Marshmallow’ to get her s**t together. I am never going to put my own career on hold for Savannah Marshall or for anybody.”

CARDIFF, WALES - FEBRUARY 05: Claressa Shields argues with Savannah Marshall ringside after the WBO, WBA, IBO AND WBF Women's Middleweight Title fight between Claressa Shields and Erna Kozin at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on February 05, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Huw Fairclough/Getty Images)

The fight between Shields and Marshall, touted to take place at St James’ Park, would be another historic moment for women’s boxing. 

Last weekend, Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden in front of 19,100 raucous fans.

Shields appeared as a pundit on DAZN after the bout, revealing her frustration about fighting in a different weight class to Taylor and Serrano. 

“I would love to fight in a place like this, in half the atmosphere that it had tonight,” she said. “But I really don’t think, with my skill set, that I have somebody that can challenge me in that way.

“The only thing that will happen is if I was to make 140 [pounds] and fight against Katie Taylor or Amanda Serrano. That’s the only big fight I would have. But I’m telling you now I can’t make 140.”