SAVANNAH MARSHALL will fight for a place at the Olympic Games later today when she competes in the quarter-finals at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in China.

But the Hartlepool middleweight will have to overcome hometown fighter Li Jinzi in order to claim a place at London 2012.

Having overcome former world champion Claressa Shields in a thrilling contest on Monday, Marshall enjoyed a much more comfortable success in yesterday’s second round.

The 20-year-old beat Norwegian Lotte Lien 13-2 with a composed display of shot making.

Having eased her way into the fight with a one-point lead at the end of the first round, Marshall exploded into life winning the second round 4-1.

She enjoyed a 9-1 lead at the end of round three, and continued to dominate in the final round, which again saw her land four scoring shots.

She will start as the favourite in today’s quarter-final, and a victory will guarantee a place at this summer’s Olympics, which will be the debut Games for women’s boxing.

However, Marshall will be wary of taking on Chinese fighter Jinzi in her own backyard given amateur boxing’s reputation for unpredictable decisions going in favour of the host nation.

Jinzi claimed a gold medal at the 2008 World Championships and booked her semifinal spot with a comprehensive 14-4 win over Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee.