Savannah Marshall wins scrappy clash with Franchon Crews-Dezurn to gain undisputed gold
The Briton claimed all the major belts at super-middleweight with a majority decision win in Manchester
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Savannah Marshall became undisputed super-middleweight champion with a narrow decision win over Franchon Crews-Dezurn on Saturday.
Two of the judges in Manchester scored the bout for Marshall, while the other had the main event as a draw – enough for the Briton to take all the major belts from Crews-Dezurn.
Marshall entered the fight on the back of a points defeat by Claressa Shields in October – the first professional loss of the 32-year-old’s career, and a result with which Marshall lost the WBO middleweight title as her rival became undisputed in the division.
But Marshall got back on track on Saturday, moving up in weight and reaping the rewards as she overcame a tough start to beat a tricky, physical opponent at the AO Arena.
Crews-Dezurn, 36, had only lost once before as a professional (also to Shields, in 2016), and the American looked on course for another win as she got the better of Marshall at close range in the early rounds.
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Crews-Dezurn, the stronger of the two boxers, was punishing Marshall in the clinch, but the challenger began to find her timing and range as the fight progressed, ultimately doing enough to sway two of the three judges. Ultimately the scorecards read 95-95, 99-92, 97-93.
Marshall then called for a rematch with Shields, who had been cheering on Crews-Dezurn from ringside, suggesting that such a bout should take place at super-middleweight – rather than at middleweight.
On the undercard, Natasha Jonas became a two-weight world champion by stopping Kandi Wyatt in Round 8 to win the vacant IBF welterweight title. The Briton, 39, also holds the WBC and WBO titles at super-welterweight.
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