PREVIEW: Franchon Crews-Dezurn vs Savannah Marshall
By Hayden Knowles
After a thrilling yet ultimately dissapointing clash with Claressa Shields back in October, Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KO) is now eyeing up Franchon Crews-Dezurn’s WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF super middleweight titles, whereas 'The Heavy Hitting Diva' (8-1, 2KO) will be looking to extend her unbeaten run. The American’s only loss came against Claressa Shields to, back in 2016 on her professional debut.
July 1st will be Crews-Dezurn’s first fight since she became an undisputed champion back in April 2022, after a unanimous decision win against Elin Cederroos.
Back in 2020, Crews-Dezurn lost to Alejandra Jimenez via split decision. However, the fight was declared a no contest as Jimenez had failed a drugs test, with a urine sample which was taken the day before the fight.
On the other hand, after losing her unbeaten record in October the Silent Assassin is fighting at super middleweight for the first time since 2019.
The pair shared an extremely intense press conference where they exchanged words, which heated things up even more. Her training partner and husband Glenn Dezurn Jr. said they would be training for “war.”
The card, which was originally meant to be headlined by Liam Smith & Chris Eubank Jr is being replaced by what was the co-main event as Savannah Marshall has the chance to become undisputed champion at the 2nd time of asking.
Also on the card, Natasha Jonas will also aim to become a 2 weight world champion, facing off against Canadian Kandi Wyatt, whilst Zak Chelli will face the undefeated Mark Jeffers.
Fighter’s Form (last 5 fights):
Franchon Crews-Dezurn
Elin Cederroos - WIN by UD (97-93, 99-91, 99-91) - 30/04/2022
Ashleigh Curry - WIN by UD (80-72, 80-72, 80-72) - 02/01/2021
Alejandra Jimenez – No Contest - 11/01/2020
Maricela Cornejo - WIN by UD (98-92, 98-92, 97-93) - 14/09/2019
Kayla Williams - WIN by TKO 5 - 20/06/2019
Savannah Marshall
Claressa Shields - LOSS by UD (93-97, 94-96, 93-97) - 15/10/2022
Femke Hermans - WIN by KO 3 - 02/04/2022
Lolita Muzeya - WIN by TKO 1 - 16/10/2021
Maria Lindberg - WIN by KO 3 - 10/04/2021
Hannah Rankin - WIN by TKO 7 - 31/10/2020
Event Information:
Date: July 1st, 2023
Time: 19:00 (GMT), 12pm (PT), 3pm (ET)
Venue: AO Arena, Manchester, England
Channel: Sky Sports Action / Sky Sports Main Event