SAVANNAH MARSHALL revealed that she could not "lay a glove on Tommy Fury" during sparring sessions in her first visit at a pro gym.
Marshall, 31 years old, goes toe-to–toe with Claressa Schields this weekend in a massive undisputed middleweight title clash.
This weekend, Shields and Marshall will face off in London's hotly anticipated match
This historic all-female event will be held at London's O2 Arena. It has been 10 years in the making.
Marshall has knocked out 10 her pro-ranked opponents and is undoubtedly the strongest puncher in women’s boxing.
She has since admitted that it hasn't always been this way. She recalled sparring with Tyson Fury, her brother, in an eye-opening introduction to pro boxing.
Marshall stated that "Before flying out to Vegas for the debut, I was talking to Sam Jones on the phone and I told him I'd never been to a pro-gym."
"He said, "I'm looking after Joe Joyce at this moment and he sparring Hughie Fury Bolton. His dad Peter has said that you're more than welcomed to come down and he will show you bits and pieces and help you get started for your debut."
"I knew nothing about Peter. I knew Tyson was Tyson's uncle, and I knew Tyson was the heavyweight champion. That's all I knew. Peter was very friendly and welcoming when I visited him.
"I can recall him asking me if I would like to spar. He said that I did, and I replied, "Yes, go ahead." Tommy Fury was present and Peter said, "You don't lay a glove upon her, don't touch her, I want to work on defense."
"I put on my gloves and thought, 'I'm going out to batter you'. But I couldn't lay a glove upon him. That was my introduction into pro boxing."
"I can remember thinking, "Wow, this is a completely different dance.
"I went away, and the next day Sam called me saying that Peter said that he would train you to be a full camp leader.
"During that camp Peter, the philosopher that Peter is, would say, "You just watch yourself in America because this pro-boxing is not what it seems you know."
He'd say it every now and then, "Pro boxing is a dirty industry you know?" He was still prepping me to say that it wasn't all Lamborghinis back then.
In this highly anticipated bout, all four major belts will go to one of the middleweights Saturday night.
Marshall is the only fighter who has ever defeated Shields. He won a decision victory in 2012 when they were amateurs.
