Savannah Marshall’s first exposure to a professional boxing environment came in the form of an impromptu sparring session with Tommy Fury.
It would mark the beginning of her blossoming relationship with now-trainer Peter Fury amid Marshall’s preparations for her Las Vegas debut under Mayweather Promotions back in 2017.
How things have changed since then.
“Before I flew out to Vegas for my debut, I was on the phone to Sam Jones and I said ‘I’ve never actually been in a pro gym’,” Marshall explained. “He said, ‘I’m looking after Joe Joyce at the minute and he’s sparring Hughie Fury in Bolton and his dad Peter has said you’re more than welcome to come down and he’ll show you bits and bobs and help get you started for your debut’.
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“I didn’t know anything about Peter, I knew he was Tyson’s uncle and knew that Tyson had become heavyweight champion, that’s all I knew. I went down to meet Peter and he was really nice and welcoming.
“I remember him saying ‘do you want to spar?’, I said ‘ahh yeah go on then’. Tommy Fury was there and I remember Peter saying ‘you do not lay a glove on her, do not touch her, I want you working on defence’.
“I put my gloves on and thought ‘I’m going to batter you’ but I could not lay a glove on him, that was my introduction to pro boxing.”
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Check out the WBO middleweight champion Savannah Marshall’s best knockouts.
Marshall revealed she had considered walking away from boxing following her return from the Rio 2016 Olympics, only to be informed Floyd Mayweather’s team were keen to take her over to the United States.
Her visit to the Fury gym came prior to flying out, and might well have been the most important interaction of her career.
“I remember thinking ‘wow, this is just a totally different dance’,” she continued. “I went away and the next day I got a call off Sam saying ‘Peter said you’re more than welcome to come down and he’ll train you for your full camp’.
“During that camp, Peter the philosopher that he is every now again would say ‘you just watch yourself in America, because this pro boxing is not what you think you know’.
“Every now and again he’d drop it again ‘this pro boxing is a dirty business you know?’. Even back then he was prepping me going ‘it’s not all Lamborghinis’ and it wasn’t.”
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Claressa Shields is challenging Savannah Marshall to ‘back up all the talk’ in their undisputed title clash next month.
Marshall refers to herself as a ‘typical amateur’ upon her first meeting with Peter Fury, whose approach to their early day’s training together was a hands-down focus on the art of defensive boxing with which to complement the Silent Assassin’s punching power.
“I was like ‘I’ll get knocked out’, but he said ‘you won’t, I’ll teach you how to slip and slide’,” Marshall remembered.
“He had me shadow boxing for months in the mirror, I remember looking in the mirror thinking ‘you are rubbish’.
“Then the little voice in my head said ‘Savannah, he’s the only one helping you and giving his time to help so just do it’.
“I didn’t know anyone in the boxing world, I didn’t know who to go to, my only connection was Sam, Sam had put me onto Peter.”
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Claressa Shields rates Savannah Marshall ‘7 or 8 out of 10’ ahead of their undisputed middleweight championship fight.
Marshall’s American journey eventually fell frustratingly short of expectations as fights failed to materialise beyond her debut win.
It prompted a return to the UK, where Fury was waiting with open arms.
“He prepped me for my pro debut, I went out there, then rang him straight away afterwards,” said Marshall. “Because I’d developed this relationship, Peter was the only person in the whole boxing world I trusted and knew he had my best interests at heart.
“Never asked me for money or to mention him, I had a lot of trust in Peter.
“As soon as I came home, I don’t think I’d even got out of the airport before I rang him and said ‘can I come and meet you?’.
“I said ‘Peter will you have me back?’. Home.”
The biggest fight in the history of women’s boxing – Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall – is live on Sky Sports on Saturday September 10.
