Shields vs Marshall Boxing Odds Preview: Delay Only Increases Stakes

Bad Blood Remains as New Belt is Now on the Line

October 11, 2022 76 3 minutes readBoxing News

Shields vs Marshall Boxing Odds Preview: Delay Only Increases Stakes — YURI CORTEZ / AFP

Postponement Only Builds More Bad Blood
A New Title on the Line: The ‘Elizabethan Belt’

Queen Elizabeth died thus Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall had to postpone their “superfight” for a month or so. Not much has changed other than the date of the bout as the Shields vs Marshall boxing odds have this as a pick’em. The lines have gone back and forth depending on when you look. Of course, Marshall is notable as the only woman to have ever beaten Shields. Other than that, the two are virtually undefeated. But with this “new” bout, there is more at stake.

Shields vs Marshall Fight Info

Fighters: Claressa Shields (12-0-0, 2 KOs) vs Savannah Marshall (12-0-0, 10 KOs)
Location: O2 Arena, London, England
Day/Time: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET
Streaming: Live Stream Sports

Postponement Only Builds More Bad Blood

Both Shields and Marshall can only deepen their resentment for the other thanks to the postponement. We don’t need to question Shields’s motivation against Marshall. Shields not only wants to avenge her only loss against Marshall, but she also holds ill will against her adversary.

“The loss to her put a different kind of fire in me,” Shields told Sky Sports. “A fire to train harder, a fire to not leave it in the judges’ hands. I had a lot against me. I feel like I fought against her, I fought against the judges, I fought against the ref. It wasn’t to me a fair fight.”

“The loss to her put a different kind of fire in me,” Shields told Sky Sports.

Shields could go into the ring on Saturday with one intent: to hurt Marshall and to stop her. While only two of her professional bouts have ended in a knockout, Shields can be relentless enough to wear Marshall down. Of course, she can’t be too aggressive as Marshall is the bigger and stronger of the two. Those betting on boxing could find a knockout market as one of the worthy boxing prop bets.

But according to Marshall, as much as she and Shields have talked trash, power won’t be the deciding factor here.

“No, I can’t rely on my power,” Marshall told GiveMeSport.com. “I’ve got to use all my skills, all of my attributes. I’m expecting a tough fight, that’s what I’ve trained for, and if I don’t get one I’ll be very disappointed.”

In Marshall’s case, the British boxer is seeking redemption. While she did beat Shields, it was her rival who ended up winning a pair of gold medals in the Olympics. Marshall was even upset in her own home country in the 2012 Olympics. While she won’t win an Olympic gold medal anymore, defeating Shields in the United Kingdom is a great consolation.

A New Title on the Line: The ‘Elizabethan Belt’

It feels apt for the promoters to create the ‘Elizabethan Belt’ for this bout. On top of being a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, the belt will also be a symbol to the magnitude of this fight. Indeed, the Shields vs Marshall boxing odds pit two evenly matched and undefeated boxers against the other. This does not happen often and to the winner goes all the spoils of the women’s kingdom.

“I just seen the WBC tribute belt and it’s brilliant,” Marshall said. “It’s really good and the WBC have really pushed the boat out with that one – it’s one of a kind.”

The Elizabethan belt, which has a unique purple leather also features the bald eagle with the United States flag on one side and the Barbary lion and the UK flag on the other.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman also said in regards to the belt: “Queen Elizabeth II will live forever in our hearts and minds, the boxing world unites to render homage to one of the greatest human beings that ever lived, here where boxing was born.”

As if the stakes between Shields and Marshall weren’t high enough. Now, the latter feels a bit more pressure to win on Saturday as seeing the belt leave the UK is “not right”.

It’s anyone’s guess as to who wins and claims this title on top of the five middleweight belts. The Shields vs Marshall boxing odds will continue to shift so keep an eye on the sportsbook as there should be no delays this time.