Savannah Marshall and Franchon Crews-Dezurn trade barbs before huge title fight

Marshall will challenge the American for her undisputed super-middleweight belts in Manchester on Saturday

Savannah Marshall and Franchon Crews-Dezurn traded barbs at a heated press conference on Thursday, two days before their undisputed-title fight in Manchester.

Marshall will look to bounce back from the first loss of her professional career – a points defeat by Claressa Shields – as she bids to take Crews-Dezurn’s super-middleweight belts at the AO Arena.

For Marshall, it is a second straight shot at undisputed status, following her October clash with Shields, who added the Briton’s WBO middleweight title to her collection in the division.

“At the end of 1 July, it will be another icing on another cake,” said Crews-Dezurn. “I love the reference that was given that it would be ‘heavy metal’. I didn’t come to play or come to be friends, I came to kick her a**.

“I’m not like her. Unfortunately she got a defeat because she underestimated, that’s what happens when you think everything is going to be given to you. You let somebody come into your town, beat you, dog-walk you, you let somebody come and take something that was yours because you got complacent. That’s you, not me.”

Marshall, 32, hit back: “I didn’t get complacent at all. You’re nothing like Claressa, you won’t dog-walk me at all. The reality of it is: I don’t have to say anything. I’m a better fighter than you.

“The difference between me and you is you sit about on your lazy a** waiting for opportunities, this was why you’ve boxed twice in two years. When I was at super-middle, you didn’t want to entertain me, you didn’t want to know.

“So, I moved up to light-heavy where there was a title shot for me, [which] fell through. I moved down to middle to box Hannah Rankin. Same with Shadasia Green; she sat as your mandatory for over a year, and you didn’t want to know.”

American Crews-Dezurn, 36, did not take Marshall’s comments lightly.

“How can you say I sit on my lazy a** and didn’t create an opportunity when it took five minutes to introduce me, because I do so many things, and when you’ve got hustle personified here,” she said.

“I self-manage myself, I made deals with Golden Boy and all these other promoters when you had other things handed to you.

“You had 10 years, 10 rounds to prepare [against Shields], and couldn’t even do it. You better kiss my feet and be happy I came to the ring to give you an opportunity. I’m better than you, I’m more diverse than you.”

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