There was a time where a title shot was the main focal point for Shadasia Green.
That went away once the WBC rescinded an order for the unbeaten super middleweight contender to get next dibs at then-undisputed champ Franchon Crews-Dezurn. The opportunity instead went to England’s Savannah Marshall, a two-time Olympian and former middleweight titlist who seized the 168-pound crown in a ten-round decision over Crews-Dezurn on July 1 in Manchester, England.
Green remains the mandatory challenger and should be guaranteed a straightaway shot at the crown. The only order of business that currently has the attention of the explosive knockout artist from New Jersey is her fight this weekend versus Olivia Curry.
“I can’t talk about Savannah Marshall too much without leaving focus off of Olivia Curry,” Green told BoxingScene.com and Boxing News in a roundtable interview. “She’s all I’ve been thinking about.
“Savannah Marshall is definitely in my near future but I have to take care of business Saturday night and in dominant fashion.”
Green-Curry serves as part of a Pay-Per-View event distributed by DAZN, ESPN+ and PPV.com this Saturday from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The main event pits Jake Paul (7-1, 6KOs) versus bitter out-of-the-ring adversary Nate Diaz, a former MMA star who makes his boxing pro debut.
The lead entity for the event is Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), who signed Green (12-0, 11KOs) earlier this year. The timing allowed her to join the February 4 card of her longtime friend Amanda Serrano (44-2-1, 30KOs), who fully unified the featherweight division with a win over WBA titlist Erika Cruz in the main event.
Green came dangerously close to stealing the show—quite a statement, considering Serrano-Cruz remains a leading Fight of the Year contender. Prior to the headlining act, the night belonged to Green, who scored a sixth-round knockout of former unified super middleweight titlist Elin Cedderoos.
The next step was supposed to be a bid for the full super middleweight crown but the WBC allowed Marshall (13-1, 10KOs) to jump the line. It left Green not only without a title fight but a firm opportunity until the MVP team was able to secure a worthwhile opponent to land her on Saturday’s show.
“I’ve sacrificed so much of my personal life just to train for this fight,” noted Green, a former high school and college basketball standout. “I’ve been locked in. They told me a couple of months ago that they were trying to get me on this show and find a good opponent to stay busy. It’s right before my birthday, so this is my nice birthday gift.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox