Savannah Marshall believes her 2012 win over Claressa Shields — which marks Shields' only loss as an amateur or pro — wasn't a fluke.
Ahead of her Saturday bout with Daniele Basteri, Marshall told Sky Sports she's anticipating a rematch in the near future, and she expects it to have the same result.
"I believe that fight will happen soon and that I will beat her again, like I did as an amateur," Marshall said. "I think I'm twice the fighter now than I was when we last fought, so it makes no difference to me where the fight takes place, I'll beat her again."
Shields has an overall record of 72-1, including a perfect 9-0 in professional fights. The 24-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist is scheduled to fight Ivana Habazin for the WBO women's junior middleweight title Oct. 5, and a win would make her the fastest boxer to have won championships in three different divisions.
For her part, Shields wasn't terribly amused with Marshall's statements.
The 28-year-old Marshall, who's 6-0 in professional fights and 64-15 overall, did concede that her overall accolades don't quite stack up to Shields'.
"Claressa is the undisputed middleweight champion," she said, "so in that aspect she is ahead of me."
But that doesn't subdue Marshall's expectations for herself.
"I'm in this sport to become a world champion," Marshall said. "I'm not the type of person to do something half-heartedly. I've been boxing since I was 11 years old and if I didn't feel like I was at world level then there would be no point in me being here."
In her Matchroom debut against Basteri, on the undercard of Vasiliy Lomachenko-Luke Campbell fight at The O2 in London, Marshall hopes to prove she's worthy of another chance at Shields.
"I just want to show the world what I am capable of and what I can do," Marshall said. "You can expect to see a bit of everything from me on Saturday, I will win in good fashion."