Mixed martial arts(MMA) fighters with high profiles have participated in boxing matches. The most notable and recent of these was Francis Ngannou, who put Tyson Fury under a lot of strain in a close split decision loss.
After competing against Claressa Shields(14-0, 2 KOs) from Michigan, U.S. and defeating Franchon Crews-Dezurn(8-2, 2 KOs) to win the undisputed super-middleweight title, Savannah Marshall(13-1, 10 KOs) has reached the pinnacle of boxing.
Now, she is training with famous UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall(13-3-0) in mixed martial arts and taking on a new challenge with PFL.
Marshall, 32, from Hartlepool, County Durham, England has already begun training in mixed martial arts.
"For the first time in a long, long time I feel like an absolute novice. For the first time ever I can really, really appreciate MMA," said Savannah Marshall in media reports.
Ngannou's debut to boxing left a lasting impression on the sport.
"I think it was a shocker. It was a massive shock. I think Tyson massively underestimated him. I think he massively underperformed. I think Ngannou is a good fighter, a good boxer. But I think his performance wasn't world class, it was just against one of the best in the world who massively underperformed for me," said Marshall.
Although Marshall is the first to admit she still has a lot to learn, she would like to be the embodiment of the MMA boxer standard.
"I'm under no illusion that I'm an MMA fighter. I'm not. It's an opportunity I've been given and something I'm really, really excited about. If I can go in there and show that I'm an all-round fighter and I can switch sports, it would be brilliant for me," added Marshall.
"It's hard, it's really, really hard. So fair play to Francis. Because no one gave him a cat in hell's chance," she said.
She anticipates that tensions with Claressa Shields, 28, will eventually resurface. Shields has previously competed in PFL, having defeated Marshall in a middleweight undisputed title boxing match last year. Of course, they may fight once more, but maybe in mixed martial arts (MMA).
"I'm looking to have another boxing fight round March time. Nothing's set in stone but that's what I'm aiming for, then enter the SmartCage in June, July," said Marshall.
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