SAVANNAH MARSHALL is set to announce her conversion to the professional ranks after formally ending her association with Team GB’s amateur set-up.
Marshall informed British Boxing chiefs she did not want to be considered for the new World Class Performance Programme, and is expected to join a professional promoter and embark on a new chapter in her fighting carer soon.
The Hartlepool middleweight is the most successful female boxer in North-East history, having competed at two Olympic Games and claimed a World Championships title.
She has claimed a gold, silver and bronze medal at the World Championships, with her greatest success coming in 2012, and bounced back from the disappointment of her first-round exit at the London Olympics by winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
She returned to the Olympic stage last summer, and performed creditably in Rio before suffering a controversial points defeat to Dutch fighter Nouchka Fontijn in a contest that many neutral observers felt should have gone in her favour.
The 25-year-old is the latest high-profile fighter to have left the amateur scene, with double gold medallist Nicola Adams having recently announced a tie-up with professional promotor Frank Warren.
Her departure will be a major disappointment to British Boxing officials, with performance director Rob McCracken having previously expressed a hope that Marshall would spearhead the women’s team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“Savannah has been with the squad since the women’s programme began in 2010,” said McCracken. “She has made a fantastic contribution to both GB Boxing and the sport of women’s boxing as a whole.
“Savannah was the first ever female boxer to win a World Championship, and can be proud of her achievements over the last six years.”
Marshall is likely to continue her association with North-East trainer Tim Coulter, having taken up boxing as a teenager with Hartlepool’s Headland ABC.
Her move to the professional ranks could see her locking horns with long-term rival Claressa Shields, who also recently announced her departure from the amateur scene.
Shields claimed her second Olympic middleweight title when she triumphed in Rio, and the American is hotly tipped to claim the World middleweight crown now she has turned pro.
Marshall could have something to say about that as she is the only fighter to have beaten Shields in a recognised amateur contest.
Marshall, dubbed the ‘Silent Assassin’, beat her much more outspoken rival en route to claiming the World Championship title in 2012, and a fight between the pair would be a major draw on any professional bill.
It remains to be seen which professional stable Marshall joins, although she will be keen to make her professional debut as quickly as possible with Adams due to fight in both April and May as she looks to build on her Olympic profile.
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AMY TINKLER will make her first major appearance since last summer’s Olympics when she competes in the British Gymnastics Championships at Liverpool’s Echo Arena this weekend.
Tinkler shot to prominence when she claimed a bronze medal on the floor in the Rio Games, and this weekend’s nationals represent an important staging post on the road to October’s World Championships in Montreal.
The Bishop Auckland gymnast, who is a member of South Durham Gymnastics Club, which is based in Spennymoor, is due to compete in the all-around final on Saturday, which will see her line up against a number of her British team-mates from Rio including Claudia Fragapane and Ellie Downie.
Her performances in the all-around will determine whether she qualifies for the individual apparatus finals, which are due to take place on Sunday.
Having returned to action in the United States earlier this month, Tinkler is about to embark on a busy spell that will also see her compete in the World Cup of Gymnastics, which will be staged at London’s O2 Arena in April.
Tinkler will be one of nine female competitiors at the London World Cup, and will be in action on vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.
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RICHARD KILTY has been named in the British 4x100m squad for the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas next month.
Last year, Kilty criticised a number of his team-mates for failing to compete in the event, claiming he had been “let down” by several high-profile absentees.
Twelve months on, however, and Britain should be guaranteed a strong line-up, with the selectors having chosen strong squads in both the men’s and women’s events.
Stockton’s Kilty will be joined in the 4x100m squad by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Ojie Edoburun, Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Danny Talbot and Chijindu Ujah.
Middlesbrough-based Rabah Yousif has been named in the 4x400m squad, along with Theo Campbell, Jarryd Dunn, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Martyn Rooney and Delano Williams.
British Athletics performance director Neil Black said: “We are taking these championships incredibly seriously. We really only have two competitive chances to test out our teams ahead of the World Championships in London this summer – this April in Nassau and at the European Team Championships in June.”
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