Claressa Shields out to double her money after seven-figure Savannah Marshall fight as she targets $1m PFL reward
CLARESSA SHIELDS is ready to confirm her boxing super-fight with Savannah Marshall – so she can try and double her money in MMA.
The American star last year signed a seven-figure deal with Sky Sports which included a grudge match with Marshall.
But the undisputed middleweight title bout has faced two delays in July and now looks set for September.
Shields already has an MMA fight with the Professional Fighters League eyed for November.
So with a packed schedule, she wants to hurry up and settle the score with Marshall once and for all, after the Brit recovers from her arm injury.
Shields told SunSport: “Now we’re fighting in September, but fighting in boxing in a big match like this for the undisputed championship, it makes it difficult to train properly for MMA fights.
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“But, I am so ready to shut her and her team up, I’m not going to let her keep living off my name and living off my hard work.
“I’m ready to put Savannah Marshall to sleep, to put everything to sleep.
“They talk about she’s got knockout power, she’s this, she’s that. I’m ready to put all that to sleep.
“I’m going to be the winner, I’m going to be the one hurting her and after this fight, they won’t mention me and her in the same sentence, because I’m levels above her.”
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Shields in June 2021 made her MMA debut with the PFL, MMA’s only promotion with a seasonal format.
Fighters battle it out over a regular and playoff season, where four fights earn you a life-changing $1milllion cash prize.
Shields – already set to make that sum in the ring against Marshall – can give herself the chance to double her earnings in PFL’s 2023 season.
But she believes the $1m cheque on offer in the PFL cage should be her standard wage in boxing.
Shields said of competing for the PFL prize next year: “It will be a great opportunity but I should be making that kind of money in boxing.
I’m going to be the winner, I’m going to be the one hurting her and after this fight, they won’t mention me and her in the same sentence, because I’m levels above her.
Claressa Shields on Savannah Marshall
“Right now I’m close, but I still need these fights to be made to make that happen.”
Already this year, boxing celebrated a historic mega-fight between Katie Taylor, 35, and Amanda Serrano, 33.
And Mikaela Mayer, 31, and Alycia Baumgardner, 28, have also agreed to a super-featherweight unification.
With Shields, 27, set to also face Marshall, 31, it marks a monumental year for women’s boxing – but there is still work to do.
Shields said: “It’s about time. And I’ve always said, if you make the best fights in women’s boxing, you’ll get the best results.
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“You get to see the best in women’s boxing when you put two fighters that are hungry and have got belts and will put it all on the line to be champion.
“It’s just great that women’s boxing has got to this point, now we can work towards equal pay and equal fight time, because that’s very important.”