Franchon Crews-Dezurn aims to avenge amateur loss to Savannah Marshall

With Franchon Crews-Dezurn set to take on Savannah Marshall this weekend in Manchester, she tells Sky Sports that she’s still not over the amateur loss she took from Marshall way back in 2011.

At that time both women met in an Olympic Test Event where Marshall took a 14-12 points win, but that’s not the way Crews-Dezurn felt about the fight.

“I’m bitter about the decision,” she told Sky Sports. “Savannah did what she can do, which was her best and she can’t control the people pushing the button. But if you feel like you can do what you think you did then, do it again now. Do it. I know in my heart I won that fight.”

As Crews-Dezurn tells it, that loss changed the trajectory of her career, believing that it made her look undeserving to represent the USA, and provided a bigger opportunity for Claressa Shields to shine. Crews-Dezurn was careful to not take any credit away from Shields accomplishments, but just says that loss had diminished her stock.

“Because I fought her before Claressa and I was the top seed in America and me coming up short against her didn’t look good. I’m not saying it let Claressa [in] but it just kind of made me look like I was incompetent to represent the United States, which wasn’t the case because after the Olympic trials [at the World Championships], in the same tournament Savannah beat Claressa in, I medalled silver.”

So with Marshall coming in to contend for Crews-Dezurn’s 168lb world titles this weekend, Crews-Dezurn sees this as an opportunity to prove herself once more, and get some redemption along the way.