Claressa Shields does not hold any fears when it comes to the hostile reception that is likely to greet her on September 10 when she faces Savannah Marshall at London’s O2 Arena. The two-time Olympic gold medallist will face the toughest test of her professional career to date, but she’s only concerned about who is in the ring with her rather than who’s outside.
This fight has been brewing for a lengthy period and with Marshall inflicting an amateur defeat on Shields, the rivalry has a personal feel to it. Shields’ outspoken manner means she often splits audiences, but she has no issue with whatever response meets her when she makes her ringwalk in just over a month.
"The fans are the fans, but just like in Rocky, they were cheering for the Russian,” said Shields when speaking to Newsweek.
“Once they saw how Rocky was able to stand in there and give the Russian a run for his money, they started cheering for Rocky. I'm not a fan pleaser when it comes to the boxing.
“I'm not throwing more punches because the fans are cheering for me or because they're not. I'm not making mistakes because the fans are booing or because there's no action. I am there to do my job and that's to win. I'm going to have more fans than everybody expects. A lot of my fans have been wanting me to fight at the T-Mobile Arena, so they're booking their flights for the O2 to support me.”