Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall make history
The most anticipated women’s fight of all-time is officially the most watched women’s fight of all-time.
Over two million viewers tuned in on Sky Sports to watch the historic BOXXER: Legacy event at the sold-out 02 Arena in London on Saturday, 15th October, making it the most-watched women’s professional boxing show in UK history and setting a new audience record for a live women’s sport event on Sky.
The ‘Fight of the Year’ contender was also screened in 150 countries worldwide, including ESPN+ in the USA, along with a live BBC Radio 5 Live broadcast which aired to hundreds of thousands of radio listeners.
In addition to the 2m viewers who watched the live event on Sky Sports, millions more watched the build-up and action across Sky Sports Boxing YouTube and Sky Sports TikTok live streams.
Featuring two world title fights and some of the UK’s most exciting young fighters, the event produced numerous highlight moments.
Fight fans who want to relive the epic night of history can watch full highlights of Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall on the BBC website and on the Sky Sports Boxing official YouTube channel.
Two statistics particularly underline the seminal nature of the event in the context of women’s sport: 35% of ticket purchasers and 40% of the Sky Sports television audience were female, unprecedented percentages for a professional boxing event.
American superstar and two-time Olympic Gold medalist Claressa Shields became the first fighter in history to be crowned an undisputed champion in three different occasions as defeated Britain’s Savannah Marshall with a unanimous points victory in front of a sold-out arena at The O2.
Shields was handed the commemorative WBC Elizabethan Belt too, in tribute to the late Her Majesty Elizabeth II after the initial date for the undisputed world middleweight title fight was postponed due to a national period of mourning following the passing of the UK monarch.
In the co-main event, Alycia Baumgardner defeated fellow-American Mikaela Mayer to unify the world super-featherweight titles.And three Team GB Olympic heroes extended their unbeaten professional records in front of 18,000 fans as Lauren Price, Karriss Artingtstall and Caroline Dubois shone in night that will go down in boxing folklore.
BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom said: “It was a historic event. We staged something many thought wasn’t possible and it will go down in the history books. We hope it has set the stage for what is to come.
“I want to thank Sky for their unwavering support for women’s sport and boxing. From a standing start, in just 12 months our partnership has achieved so much already and Saturday night culminated in a record-breaking event.
“We believe in the power of boxing and the next generation. Our focus from day one has to bring inclusivity, innovation and entertainment to one of the oldest sports in the world. We want BOXXER to be a force for good within boxing and have a positive impact on repositioning the sport for its long-term health and success.
“For women’s sport this was truly iconic and we want to thank all the fans for the support along with everyone involved and, of course, all the fighters. We can now look forward to an extremely bright future and carry such positive momentum into the rest of the year with some huge fight nights ahead.”
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director, Sky Sports said: “What a amazing night! This was a pivotal moment not just for women’s boxing but the sport as a whole. To know that such a large audience tuned in at home to see these fights – in addition to a sell-out crowd at The O2 – shows the interest and potential for the sport.
“At Sky Sports we have been working for years to give our elite female fighters the stage they deserve, and this is only the beginning. Congratulations to all the fighters that took to the ring on Saturday – you made history. It is one year since we entered into our partnership with BOXXER and Top Rank and we are delighted that we have seen some of the most watched nights in our history.”
The next fight on Sky Sports will be headlined by Natasha Jonas world title unification fight with Maire-Eve Dicaire on Saturday, 12th November in Manchester.
For tickets, head to Boxxer.com
