Even after unifying two of the super middleweight titles, Shadasia Green insists she’s still in cotton pajamas.
“Silk would feel good,” Green said in jest, a reference to her previous statements about remaining humble and hard-working, even as her career accomplishments begin to add up.
You could excuse her for upgrading her sleepwear after defeating Savannah Marshall, a heavy-handed British world champion whose only prior pro loss came against Claressa Shields. Green outpointed the former two-division champ to claim the IBF 168lbs belt and retain her WBO title.
Despite a two-year ring absence heading in, Marshall still held the IBF title from the four belts she lifted off Franchon Crews-Dezurn, the only fighter to have beaten Green, 16-1 (11 KOs).
The split decision victory, which took place on July 11 at Madison Square Garden, earned the 35-year-old “Athlete of the Year” honors in her hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.
She isn’t denying herself all luxuries, however. Green and her wife are currently house hunting for a new home for their family including their child, and their Goldendoodle Troy, while also planning to go on vacation in August.
This past weekend, she took her nephews and nieces to Kalahari Water Park, allowing herself to live like a “big kid” while waiting for news of her next fight.
Still, her latest victory hasn’t kept her out of the gym as she ponders what she could be doing better.
“I watched the fight so much,” admitted Green. “At first I was enjoying it but now I’m looking at some of the things that I hate that I did wrong and I want to fix them. I started letting my hands go with three punch combinations and pushing her back. I don't think anybody has ever seen Savannah go backwards, making sure that I was a bit defensively responsible without having another point deducted.
“But I just always felt, and I was always told this by my corner, that if somebody punches with me and I land, chances are my punches are going to hurt. I took one of Savannah’s best shots, and I knew that I was in shape from that point and beyond, and so I just put it all on the line.”
What hasn’t sat as well with Green has been Marshall’s criticism of the decision, which she understands partly, given how tough she took her own defeat to Crews-Dezurn in 2023.
“I just wish she was more gracious in defeat as I would have been. But honestly, you can't tell a hit man how to holler,” said Green. “Savannah is a great fighter, and nobody wants to take the loss on the chin. I'm just grateful that she was respectful to me in the ring after the fight and within my victory.
“But I saw it like the judges saw it. You know, they were a lot of close rounds, but I felt like I pulled away from the fifth all the way up until the end of the fight. And I've watched the fight 60 to 70 times. And my daughter got up today and text my wife and said, ‘She's watching it at five o'clock in the morning.’ So I can't tell her how to cope with what's going on and what she felt.”
Now, as Green enjoys the fallout of her biggest win, she ponders the future.
The biggest possible matchup would probably be against Claressa Shields, the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion who fights this weekend against Lani Daniels in Detroit, Michigan. Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, whose company promotes Green, has said they are open to making a fight between the USA Boxing teammates.
Green says she believes a rivalry between herself and Shields could replicate the commercial success that Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor were able to generate, if only Shields could understand where she’s coming from.
“I would love that fight. I just hate that Claressa takes it as a slight towards her that I say I would love to fight her,” said Green. “I'm sure there were up and coming fighters who wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather. What would the boxing world be if Marvin Hagler didn't want to fight Sugar Ray Leonard, if Sugar Ray Leonard didn't want to fight Tommy Hearns, if Roberto Duran didn't want to fight Sugar Ray Leonard?
“I really wish she understood that I respect her skill set. I respect what she's doing to the sport. I respect what she's done for women's boxing. We are fighters and that this calls to be for a humongous fight, which we just witnessed, Amanda and Katie. They did it three times. They did it respectfully. They were made for each other. There's never not going to be a great round between the two. They didn't mind getting in the ring, making the most money they've ever been paid, competing for the fans and putting it all on the line.”
One person Green doesn’t seem as enthusiastic about working with is Crews-Dezurn, who holds the WBC and WBA titles at 168lbs.
A rematch between Green and Crews-Dezurn would create an undisputed champion. However, Crews-Dezurn’s criticism of her on social media has spoiled communication between the two camps. “The thing about Franchon, she's doing the smear campaign so much that it's hard to want to even do business with her,” insisted Green. “When we reached out, when she had nothing going on, to do the rematch, she felt like she was being belittled or low-balled or whatnot, and she had no interest in the pot. She had taken the belt, and she had no reason to come over and fight me again, even though she had nothing lined up,
“I'm totally respectful. Your last performance wasn't your best at all. A lot of people thought that Franchon lost her last fight [a majority decision win over Citlalli Ortiz on June 6]. Not once did I mention it. Not once did I tweet about it. I've literally been ignoring her smear campaign, learning from Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor on how to conduct business, on how to make a fight happen. You don't need to belittle or make light of trying situations to get somebody in the ring.”
For now, Green has other business to attend to.
She says that the next move will be worked on by Bidarian and his fellow MVP co-founder Jake Paul, while she gets some much needed rest.
“I know MVP has big plans for me, and I fully trust them, and I appreciate them, Jake and Nakisa, and I'm looking forward to it,” acknowledged Green. “But right now, what I'm looking forward to is just some fun in the water, some fun on the beach, and some relaxation and recovery.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
