Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall can be ‘a transformational moment’ in fight for equality
Claressa Shields wants a fight with Savannah Marshall to make “significant advancements” to close the gender pay gap, her advisor says.
The phenomenal Shields has won two Olympic gold medals, world championships in three divisions and undisputed titles in two.
She is unbeaten in 11 pro fights – the last time she lost was as a 17-year-old amateur against Britain’s Marshall, leading to calls for a rematch.
Marshall is undefeated in nine and holds the WBO middleweight title but Shields hopes a fight between them would have even greater significance than just the belts at stake.
“We love the Savannah Marshall fight,” Shields advisor Mark Taffet told Sky Sports.
“But we want [Marshall’s promoter] Eddie Hearn, other promoters and the networks to join us in making significant advancements toward equality for women.
“And that includes appropriate pay for premium events.
“We are at a crossroads in the history of this sport, a transformational moment where the greatest female fighter in the world stood tall to make a point.
“Claressa Shields competes against women but she fights for equality. The time is now.”
Savannah Marshall's masterful stoppage ??@Savmarshall1 became WBO World Middleweight Champion on Saturday night after a commanding performance saw her stop Hannah Rankin in the 7th round ?
American Shields has been vocal about the earnings that female boxers make in comparison to the men, and also about changing the rule that forces women’s boxing to use two-minute rounds instead of the traditional three minutes.
“I’m not saying that fighting two minutes is causing us to get paid less,” she posted on social media. “I’m saying that we work for less time but want the same amount of money as the men who fight three minutes.
“Mathematically 20 minutes vs 36 mins! I wonder if we fought 36 minutes would we have a stronger argument for equal pay. Also our fights would be more appealing and give us more time to display our skills like the men and break our opponents down. This is my take on it.”
Natasha Jonas, the former Team GB Olympian who battled Terri Harper to a draw last summer, has also spoken out about pay for female boxers.
“I would like to think that females coming after me would be in a better position than I was,” she said.
“The thing about boxing when you start is that there is no discrepancy with money. Whether you’re a man or a woman it’s generally the same and it’s only when you move further up the ladder the pay scales differ.
“That’s what we need to work on now. We’ve broken down those barriers of ‘women can’t box’ because there are household names and people are genuinely interested in where the females go and what they’re doing next.
“Because the standard is so high, everybody wants to compete against everybody. Katie Taylor set the bar when she became undisputed champion along with Claressa, now everybody wants to do that.
“Every female doesn’t want to be a one-belt champion, she wants to be the outright champion. It’s easier to make that happen. It would be a promoter’s dream.”
‘Come see me, Marshall!’
Shields and Marshall’s promoter Hearn also got into a social media back-and-forth about the proposed fight between two undefeated world champions.
“It is so sad for her that she wanted to wait for my belt to become vacant, rather than fight me for it,” Shields previously told Sky Sports about Marshall.
“That’s so soft.
Eddie your opinion is yours, I can’t take that away from you. Get the offer right big guy. Now I have some training to do ✌? https://t.co/WSIgD2G2GL
“She could have fought for all the belts at 160lbs to show how tough she really is.
“Savannah’s coach Peter Fury said she’s too strong for me? Shut up, shut up!
“Savannah hasn’t been challenged enough yet for her to even be saying my name.
“But if she wants to come see me? Then come see me. I’ll shut her and her team up because they do too much talking for me!”
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