Claressa Shields has teased that her ring walk will be “something big” when she fights Savannah Marshall at the O2 arena, London, on September 10th.
The blockbuster fight was confirmed this week by promotional company BOXXER and will see the two rivals contest to become the undisputed middleweight champion.
Marshall currently holds the WBO title, while Shields is the WBC, IBF, WBA and Ring magazine champion.
Both fighters are undefeated in their professional careers, though Marshall defeated Shields as an amateur back in 2012.
The fight, which has been 10 years in the making, will be the first time the UK will host an undisputed women’s title fight and the first time an event will feature an all-female card.
Shields planning memorable ring walk
At a heated press conference in London, Shields wore a custom-made outfit with her nickname the “GWOAT” (greatest woman of all time) branded across the front.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, the 27-year-old revealed she had even bigger plans for her ring walk attire at the O2.
“I do have something big planned for the ring walk,” she stressed, before launching into a rendition of ‘Coming to America.’
She continued: “This fight is huge for many reasons. It's the UK vs USA. I'm the favourite, but it's like, I'm also an entertainer. So I'm coming out with the USA colours on for sure, and we’ll come up with some music and it’s going to be great.”
Shields not fazed by crowd
Shields has fought in the UK once before –– defeating Emma Kozin at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff back in February.
However, the O2 crowd is largely expected to favour Marshall, who is the first ever British female world champion.
Despite this, the American believes she’ll get a good reception in London and isn’t worried about a potentially hostile reception.
“I don’t think I’ll get booed because the fans really want to see this fight,” she said.
“They’re very appreciative because I could’ve acted like Savannah Marshall didn’t exist and continued on with my career but I’m doing a fight here and I made it known that I wanted to fight her.”
Needing a dance partner
During the press conference, Marshall goaded Shields by claiming she couldn’t sell tickets in her own country.
Yet, Shields explained that this was not her fault, but rather her lack of suitable opposition.
“I’ve always been a dance partner but the other girls I fought were not.
“She [Marshall] didn’t even sell out in her hometown up in Newcastle. I was there and it definitely wasn’t sold out.”
Shields elaborated by emphasising that female boxers needed to do more with their ‘brands’ and start to promote themselves.
“Lots of girls in boxing not doing the right thing with their brands. They’re not using social media to build themselves up; they’re just expecting the networks to do it. But I’ve been doing it with and without the networks.”
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