7/1 ESPN+: Franchon Crews-Dezurn vs Savannah Marshall (Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship)

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Undisputed super middleweight world champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn puts her titles on the line against former WBO middleweight world champion Savannah Marshall this Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

In the 10-round co-feature, unified junior middleweight world champion Natasha Jonas takes on former two-time title challenger Kandi Wyatt for the vacant IBF welterweight crown.

Promoted by BOXXER, Crews Dezurn-Marshall, Jonas-Wyatt and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs) was an international amateur standout before turning pro in 2016 against two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields. She has remained unbeaten since the loss to Shields, capturing the vacant WBC crown via majority decision against Maricela Cornejo in September 2018 and wining the vacant WBO title in a rematch against Cornejo two years later. In her last fight, Crews-Dezurn defeated then-unbeaten WBA and IBF champion Elin Cederroos via 10-round unanimous decision to become the undisputed queen.

Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) is a two-time Olympian who holds a win over Shields in as an amateur. She made her pro debut in August 2017 and captured the vacant WBO middleweight world title with a seventh-round TKO win over Hannah Rankin in October 2020. She defended it three times, all by stoppage. In her last fight, her feud with Shields culminated an undisputed middleweight title showdown that handed Marshall her first loss as a pro. She now looks to become champion again in her second opportunity at undisputed glory.

Jonas (13-2-1, 8 KOs) became the first female British boxer to compete in the Olympics in 2012. She lost to eventual gold medalist Katie Taylor and entered the paid ranks in 2017. Jonas made unsuccessful bids for Terri Harper’s WBC 130-pound title in August 2020 and Taylor’s undisputed lightweight crown in May 2021. Since then, she has won four straight, including three title showdowns last year that saw her become a three-belt unified junior middleweight champion.

Wyatt (11-4, 3 KOs) is an eight-year pro who challenged Kali Reis for the WBA junior welterweight title in November 2020 and Jessica McCaskill for the undisputed welterweight championship in December 2021. She is coming off a 10-round split decision win against Kirstie Bavington in March.

In other streaming action from Manchester, United Kingdom:

British Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker (3-0, 2 KOs) will square off against Slovakia’s Vladimir Belujsky (13-6-1, 9 KOs) in an eight-round battle that will take place right before the main event. Whitaker will make his second appearance in 2023 after knocking out Jordan Grant in three rounds in May.

Super middleweight standout Zak Chelli (13-1-1, 6 KOs) takes on unbeaten Mark Jeffers (15-0, 4 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Chelli has beaten five undefeated opponents, including Germaine Brown for a British super middleweight title in June 2022. In his last outing, he upset Anthony Sims Jr. via 10-round unanimous decision. Jeffers is coming off a six-round decision win over Serhii Ksendzov in May.

Unbeaten super middleweight Callum Simpson (11-0, 9 KOs) returns against Boris Crighton (11-3, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight fight.

 

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Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Savannah Marshall Make Weight For Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship​

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BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Fri Jun 30, 2023, 09:32 AM EDT
Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Savannah Marshall had plenty of energy left at the scales to enjoy one final verbal exchange before they fight for real in the ring.
Both boxers comfortably made weight for their undisputed super middleweight championship clash. Crews-Dezurn donned her trademark sunglasses as she checked in at 167.3 pounds to defend her fully unified crown. Marshall was a career-heaviest 167 pounds but still one full pound under the divisional limit for their main event from AO Arena in Manchester, England (Saturday, Sky Sports/ESPN+, 7:00 p.m. GMT/2:00 p.m. ET).
Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2KOs; 1NC) attempts her fourth overall title defense and first as the undisputed champion. The charismatic 36-year-young champion from Baltimore, Maryland has not fought since she added the WBA and IBF belts to her collection in a ten-round win over unbeaten Elin Cedderoos last April 30 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. She’s held the WBC belt since September 2018 and added the WBO belt one year later.
The lone defeat suffered by champion and challenger came at the hands of the same fighter—two-time Olympic Gold medalist and three-division champion Claressa Shields.
Crews-Dezurn lost a four-round decision when both she and Shields made their respective pro debuts in their November 2016 meeting.
Marshall’s defeat to the pound-for-pound queen came in her most recent start.
The two-time Olympian from Hartlepool, County Durham came up short on the cards in their fantastic undisputed championship clash last October 15 at The O2 in London. The defeat ended Marshall’s WBO middleweight title reign which began with a seventh-round knockout of Hannah Rankin in October 2020. The title win and her three successful defenses all ended inside the distance.
The evening’s other title fight will see 2012 Great Britain Olympian and unified junior middleweight titlist Natasha Jonas move down in weight to face visiting Kandi Wyatt for the vacant IBF welterweight title.
Liverpool’s Jonas was 146.3 pounds, her lightest official weight in more than 18 months after moving up to the junior middleweight limit. She still holds the WBC, IBF and WBO titles at the weight but will have a difficult decision to make with a win on Saturday as to which weight she remains and belts she will retain.
Jonas previously fought to a draw versus then-unbeaten WBC junior lightweight titlist Terri Harper and a dropped a narrow ten-round decision to undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor before moving up in weight.
Wyatt was 146 pounds in her fourth bid for a major title. The longshot opponent from Calgary, Canada fell short in versus Kali Reis in November 2020 for the vacant WBA junior welterweight title and a December 2021 seventh-round knockout loss to then-undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill as a late replacement opponent. Wyatt also suffered a sixth-round knockout to Christina Linardatou in their March 2019 vacant WBO 140-pound title fight.
Below are the weights for the remaining undercard bouts.
Ben Whittaker (3-0, 2KOs), West Bromwich, West Midlands, 174.3 pounds vs. Vladimir Belujsky (13-6-1, 9KOs), Kezmorak, Slovakia, 175.3 pounds—8 rounds, light heavyweight
Zak Chelli (13-1-1, 6KOs), Fulham, London, 166.3 pounds vs. Mark Jeffers (15-0, 4KOs), Chorley, Lancashire, 167.3 pounds—10 rounds, super middleweight
Callum Simpson (11-0, 9KOs), Barnsley, Yorkshire, 169 pounds vs. Boris Crighton (11-3, 7KOs), Glasgow, Scotland, 167 pounds—rounds, super middleweight
April Hunter (6-1, 0KOs), Liverpool, 153 pounds vs. Kirstie Bavington (7-4-2, 2KOs), Pensnett, West Midland 149.3 pounds—6 rounds, junior middleweight (off-TV)
 
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