There will be heavy ramifications at stake on Saturday night at the AO Arena in Manchester, England as Franchon Crews-Dezurn looks to defend her undisputed super middleweight championship against Savannah Marshall.
Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 knockouts) is coming off a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Elin Cederroos last April, while Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) lost by the same result to Claressa Shields more recently in October.
Considering the magnitude of this clash, DAZN analyzed the keys to victory for each fighter.
Savannah Marshall's keys to victory
Look to split Crews-Dezurn’s guard early
Crews-Dezurn sometimes has a tendency to have a lapse in her guard, especially while looking for her next punch. Such lapses should signal an instant green light to Marshall to throw a straight right or left hand. Those straight shots connecting and splitting the champ’s guard early could pay big dividends as the bout continues as they might stifle the champion's movement and slow her down a bit.
Time and catch Crews-Dezurn lunging in with a right
Crews-Dezurn is an extremely busy fighter and in that bustle, she often lunges forward and steps into her punches. That especially holds true for when she’s facing taller opponents as evidenced by her bout against Elin Cederroos last year. More often than not, Crews-Dezurn lunging in meant her connecting flush with Cederroos’ face. However, there were also sequences that had Cederroos timing Crews-Dezurn’s encroaching and blasting her with a right hand. In fact, she put Crews-Dezurn through hell with well-timed rights in the fourth round. Marshall must recognize this movement early and make the champ think twice about getting inside on her.
Don’t drop hands when switching stances, stand tall
Standing six feet tall, Marshall is usually taller than her opponent but doesn’t always behave like that. The British fighter has a penchant for dropping her hands with slightly slumped shoulders while switching stances and setting up her offense. She can’t afford to do that against a savvy vet like Crews-Dezurn who will make her pay with a smashing overhand right. Instead, Marshall should act like the taller fighter and pepper the smaller Crews-Dezurn with a jab to keep her at bay, and stifle her inside movement and overall activity. Not doing this could spell doom for Marshall.
Franchon Crews-Dezurn's keys to victory
Keep guard tight
Crews-Dezurn is such an active fighter that she sometimes loosens up on her guard, failing to keep it tight and in front of her face. Those are the moments that a heavy-handed puncher like Marshall could hurt her. Being cognizant of these lapses alone should help Crews-Dezurn secure a tighter guard and possibly take less damage.
Make deposits to the body
The champ did a solid job of making deposits to the body of a bigger Cederroos, using her feet and movement to get in position and unload with crunching shots. Marshall moves awkwardly and can be victim to plenty of body work, only behooving the undisputed champion to make the area a conscious and consistent one of concentration in this major bout.
Unleash that big overhand right as Marshall switches stances
As Marshall switches stances, she often rounds her shoulders and keeps her hands down. She did it against Claressa Shields and ate a buffet of punches in the process during a unanimous decision loss in October. If Crews-Dezurn spots her doing the same, she has to unload that massive overhand right. Crews-Dezurn does an excellent job of throwing that punch with whiplashing, explosive action and it’s a weapon that is foreseeably open for business Saturday if Marshall doesn’t adjust from months ago.