Savannah Marshall beats Sydney LeBlanc by unanimous decision in first bout of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor undercard
- Savannah Marshall made a winning start to her professional boxing career
- Marshall, the British Olympian, is a Mayweather Promotions fighter
- She beat Sydney LeBlanc by unanimous decision in Las Vegas
- The victory came in the first fight of the Mayweather v McGregor undercard
Savannah Marshall coasted through her professional debut after the Hartlepool Olympian kicked off the Mayweather-McGregor undercard with a win against Sydney LeBlanc.
In her first outing as a Mayweather Promotions fighter, Marshall was comfortable in controlling the older and more experienced American, before emerging victorious in a unanimous decision.
Marshall - who represented Team GB at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics - made all the running from the opening bell and she was by far the more aggressive of the pair.
Savannah Marshall made a winning start to her professional boxing career in Las Vegas
Marshall is a Mayweather Promotions fighter and was boxing on her boss' undercard
The Olympian was all smiles after claiming victory in her bout with Sydney LeBlanc
The 26-year-old showed livelier footwork and controlled proceedings from behind her jab, with LeBlanc content to back off and avoid the Brit’s shots.
On a couple of stages during the first round, Marshall pressurised LeBlanc onto the ropes, where the Californian covered up amidst a flurry of combinations.
That pattern continued in the second, with Marshall just struggling to connect flush with that killer punch which would have left the 33-year-old truly reeling.
Marshall knocked LeBlanc’s head back with a jab early in the third, but it seemed to shake her out of her shell, if anything, as she began to throw some punches of her own.
It didn’t last though.
Marshall impressed throughout and beat LeBlanc by unanimous decision
She never looked overly concerned and kept her opponent at arms length throughout the bout
The former World and Commonwealth amateur champion never looked worried; returning to the pattern of pushing her opponent back against the ropes.
Marshall attempted to reignite the slowing tempo at the start of the final round with a flurry of body shots and began to connect consistently with jabs.
If it had gone another round, then LeBlanc looked as if she would have struggled to last the distance.
But the killer knockout blow just evaded ‘The Silent Assassin’, albeit she took the decision with all three judges.
Marshall’s victory will be the springboard for her to relocate to Las Vegas permanently and begin training with Mayweather Promotions after she had prepared for this fight with Peter Fury.
Marshall knocked LeBlanc’s head back with a jab early in the third but it mattered little
The Hartlepool fighter, pictured on her way to the ring ahead of her debut contest
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