Ten years on, Claressa Shields avenged the one blot on her record amateur or pro as he claimed a unanimous points decision over Savannah Marshall in an incredibly intense fight at the O2 in London, becoming undisputed world middleweight champion again. 

Shields fought at a remarkable pace, building up a big lead in the first half of the fight as she repeatedly beat Marshall to the punch and through bursts of hard punches. 

Marshall – who beat the double Olympic champion at the World Amateur Championships in China in 2012 in their only previous meeting – soaked it all up and tried everything, bravely trying to force Shields backwards throughout. But what successes Marshall had were fleeting, as Shields always returned fire, even in the final round when she started to tire. 

Two judges had it by 97-93, a third had it 96-94. And while Shields looked briefly concerned when the announcement of “and new undisputed….” was made, there should not really have been much doubt about it. 

Whether it was in the contract or not, however, a rematch looks certain to be on the cards after a sensational fight. It showed the advantage of having ten, two-minute rounds too, as it allowed both to effectively fight flat out for the whole fight. It must be doubted that pace could have been maintained over three-minute rounds.

There was a fast start by both, Shields landing with a furious two-handed attack off the ropes as Marshall edged her backwards and then again landing well when fighting out of a corner.  

Marshall went after Shields at the start of the second, landing two big rights with Shields back up on the ropes, but the American took over in the second half of the round, landing with shorter hooks and throwing combinations and that pattern continued in the third round, as Marshall did not really use her jab but loaded up too much, giving Shields the chance to beat her to the punch.  

Shields was fighting at a relentless pace, banging in punches with both hands as Marshall walked forward and one left hook at the end of the fourth seemed to hurt Marshall, 

There was no let-up in the fifth, and while Marshall had some success when she found room to land the right, Shields tucked up well and sprang back in response, hammering home a left hook to the body and then landing another on the bell. 

In the sixth round, Marshall trapped Shields in a corner, landing a clubbing right and a left hook that forced Shields to hold for the first time, but Shields sprang back into action in the dying seconds.  

While Marshall’s punches tended to bludgeon Shields, the American had a real pop to her punches that you could hear from ringside. Shields was relentless in the seventh, going after Marshall when she caught her and pressing her advantage. 

Marshall tried desperately to turn things around in the eighth round, but Shields was beating her to the punch. At one point when the American backed into a corner, she put her tongue out at Marshall, and while the British boxer saw a huge uppercut ship just past Shields’s jaw, she never stopped throwing. 

The ninth went the way of Marshall by pure effort, as she kept moving Shields backwards. There were signs that Shields may finally be tiring in the last round, as Marshall relentlessly came forward, but the end was always going to be sensational, as Shields landed a series of heavy hooks to the head, while Marshall landed two good punches right on the bell. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.