Inside Claressa Shield's only loss to Savannah Marshall - 'steroid meat' to 'hostility'

dailystar.co.uk:

Read More: Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields separated by security in furious insult exchangeThey may not have been the imperious names they are today, but Marshall and Shields were being heralded as two of the hottest prospects in women’s boxing.

Yet, they barely knew of each other’s existence, let alone their capabilities in the ring.“Nobody had footage of her,” Shields said in an exclusive interview with Daily Star Sport. “I had only seen her once before.” Video footage is at the forefront of all preparations in modern sport.

Analysts investigate ever possible facet of an opponent’s performance from their combinations, their movement, their defence to their concentration.However, Shields claims the environment around Team USA’s camp was “hostile” and that she was not “prepared, mentally or physically” for taking on Marshall. “When I think about when we were in China, I just remember there was so much hostility on our American team.“I had beaten everybody to be No.1 at about 165lbs in America, but there were little whispers of ‘oh if she don’t qualify, then the girl that got second place can probably make it to the Olympics or she could take her spot’ there was so much hostility.

I think people forget that in 2012 there were three weight classes for the women, 112, 132, and 165, so a lot of girls who were 140 and 150 fought at 165.