BOXING gets the opportunity drag itself up out of the mud this weekend with the timely staging of the best fight to hit British soil in 2022.

The pound-for-pound number one champion in female boxing takes on its pound-for-pound biggest puncher on Saturday at the O2 and, if that wasn’t tasty enough, they absolutely despise one another.

American Claressa Shields – the self-proclaimed Greatest Women’s Boxer of all Time (GWOAT) – takes on the only person to ever beat her in a ring, Hartlepool’s Savannah Marshall, for all the belts at middleweight, five weeks later than planned following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Both are undefeated in 12 punch-perfect performances as pros, but that’s where the similarities end – in terms of accomplishments and fighting styles.

In just her dozen fights Shields has won multiple world titles in three weight classes across nine championship contests. The 27-year-old has hardly lost a round yet, notably, only has two knockouts on her royal resume.

Marshall, meanwhile, was nine fights in before she won her version of a world title, but has needed the judges just twice. The 31-year-old’s 10 knockout wins are way and beyond any other female in championship class.

AMATUER RIVALS

It was May 2012 when then 17-year-old Shields was outpointed by Marshall in the preliminary rounds of the Amateur World Championships.

And though Savannah went on to win gold in China, Shields had the last laugh just weeks later when she stood on top of the podium at the London 2012 Olympics.

From there, ‘T-Rex’ became untouchable, winning three consecutive World Championships and another Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. At each event, Marshall crashed out early scuppering any chances of a rematch.

It’s taken little over 10 years – and an additional five weeks – to finally get to this second fight. And both athletes know Saturday’s outcome will define their legacies.

STYLES MAKE FIGHTS

Earlier this year, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano set a new benchmark for women’s boxing with their ‘Fight of the Year’ contender headlining Madison Square Garden. This match-up has all the ingredients to follow suit.

The 10 x two-minute rounds still detrimentally utilised in women’s boxing work in Shields’ favour. She has just 20 minutes of ring time to slip and slide and rack up a winning margin on the scorecards.

But it’s worth remembering that Marshall can absolutely box too and her relationship with head coach Peter Fury is one of the most prolific in British boxing.

Marshall has to stop Shields from getting into any early rhythm and ideally land something of note inside the opening rounds to avoid the fight running away from her.

Shields has the skills to make any opponent looks rudimentary. But this is the biggest pro fight in the career of the Flint, Michigan native too, so pressure is on both to perform against their biggest rival.

At some stage skill will have to give in to will, and that’s when the fun begins. But by the time Shields gets dragged into a dogfight, she’ll likely be far enough ahead on the cards to hold on to her belts.

TIP: Shields on Points (5/4)