Claressa Shields will not be returning to the UK for a mixed martial arts fight against Savannah Marshall, according to Shields` promoter, Dmitriy Salita.
Marshall and Shields have verbally agreed to continue their rivalry in MMA after Marshall`s successful MMA debut, where she secured a first-round victory over Mirela Vargas at PFL Europe in Newcastle on Saturday.
However, Salita, representing Shields, has made it clear that Shields will not travel back to the UK. This follows Shields` previous trip to London`s O2 Arena, where she defeated Marshall by unanimous decision in their boxing match in October 2022.
Salita stated to Sky Sports that the rivalry between Claressa and Savannah is strong across both boxing and MMA. He emphasized the importance of rivalries in driving sports forward and acknowledged the significant popularity of this particular rivalry in women`s boxing.
He pointed out that Shields had already traveled to the UK to defeat Marshall in her home country, avenging her only amateur defeat. Now, with the tables turned as they consider an MMA bout, Salita suggests Marshall must come to the US or agree to a neutral venue.
While the immediate focus for Shields is her upcoming fight for a fourth world title against WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in Detroit on July 27th, Salita believes a rematch with Marshall in boxing is still likely. He described their rivalry as one of the biggest in boxing, comparing it to the Leonard vs. Hearns rivalry.
Salita extended an invitation for Savannah Marshall to attend Shields` fight with Lepage-Joanisse, similar to how Shields has attended Marshall`s fights in the past.
Following Queensberry`s victory over Matchroom in the 5 vs 5 tournament in Saudi Arabia, Salita expressed interest in organizing a tournament between his promotional group and BOXXER, suggesting a Shields vs. Marshall fight could headline such an event.
