Spectators at the AO Arena in Manchester, England and in Sheffield were in for an exciting evening of boxing this weekend. In Manchester, Savannah Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs) squared off against the IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO female super middleweight champion, Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-2, 2 KOs), in an eagerly anticipated contest. Meanwhile, over in Sheffield, Dalton Smith (15-0, 11 KOs) was defending his British super-lightweight title against Sam Maxwell (17-2, 11 KOs) in a clash of titans.
Marshall was coming off a loss against Claressa Shields in her previous fight, and her performance showed considerable improvement. The prospect of a rematch between Marshall and Shields was floating around, but Shields’ response was a mix of caution and confident challenge, emphasizing her readiness to fight Marshall at any weight. Many boxing fans speculate that Shields may be reluctant to face Marshall again due to the competitive nature of their previous encounter.
Also making a splash on the Manchester card was Natasha Jonas (14-2-1, 9 KOs), who stepped down from junior middleweight to deliver an eighth-round stoppage against Kandi Wyatt (11-5, 3 KOs). Meanwhile, light heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker (4-0, 3 KOs) and super middleweight talents Mark Jeffers (16-0, 4 KOs) and Callum Simpson (12-0, 9 KO) maintained their unbeaten records with impressive performances.
In Sheffield, Dalton Smith emerged as the champion in a stunning spectacle of boxing finesse, defending his British super-lightweight title against Sam Maxwell. He delivered a thrilling knockout in the seventh round, marking a victory even while sustaining cuts over both eyes. Smith’s control throughout the fight earned him Maxwell’s Commonwealth strap, and he is now setting his sights on more significant challenges in the 140lbs division.
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