Britain’s Savannah Marshall wins women’s boxing world title

Savannah Marshall has been crowned Britain’s first women’s world boxing champion after defeating Azerbaijan’s Elena Vystropova in Qinhuangdao, China.

Marshall, who had already done enough to book her place at the London Olympics, celebrated her 21st birthday in style with a 17-15 unanimous points decision.

The middleweight warrior from Hartlepool improved on her silver medal from two years ago and was 7-5 ahead at the halfway stage but had to hold on through a tough third round, during which an excellent uppercut from Vystropova caused blood to ooze from Marshall’s nose.

The Brit still led by two points going into the final round and Vystropova went on the offensive again – but Marshall produced a blistering combination in the dying seconds to seal a historic success.

However, her team-mate Nicola Adams had to settle for her third consecutive World Championship silver medal after losing 14-10 to China’s Ren Cancan in the flyweight final.

It was a disappointing result for Adams, who was beaten by the same opponent in the final in Bridgetown two years ago, but eased significantly by the knowledge she had already done enough to qualify for London 2012.

Irish lightweight Katie Taylor claimed her fourth consecutive world title with a 16-6 win over Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva, who had eliminated England’s Natasha Jonas in the semi-finals.

The Sport Review’s boxing section is sponsored by Kinetica, fuelling Ben Youngs, Tommy Bowe, Stephen Ferris, and London Irish.

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