Sunday 23 November 2014 16:59, UK
Sky Sports’ Adam Smith is confident that his mentee Savannah Marshall can cope with the pressure of being reigning champion at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in South Korea.
The Hartlepool middleweight claimed the crown in 2012 in China and a repeat performance would see her become the first British boxer to win a second world championship gold medal.
However, just months after Marshall’s world title win came her lowest moment in the sport as she crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the Olympic Games in London. As the favourite to win gold, the defeat was a major shock and the Sky Academy Sports Scholar has admitted she struggled to cope with the expectation and competing in front of a crowd of thousands.
She has got the ability to compete in South Korea and come back with the gold but if she doesn't I believe that the project is all about getting that gold in Rio.
In the two years since, Marshall has managed to reassert herself as one of women’s boxing’s biggest talents with victory at the World Combat Games in 2013 and the Commonwealth Games this summer.
It is the latter in particular that Smith believes the 23-year-old fighter can take most confidence.
“She went to the Commonwealth Games having just recovered from injury so she wasn’t 100% fit,” he told Sky Sports. “She’d been out of competitive boxing for a long time so I think that was a real test for her in the early stages but as she got into her rhythm she realised she could deal with anything in front of her.
“I think it was fantastic that she had that before this (the World Championships) because it is proof that whatever happened in London hopefully won’t happen again. She is still only young and I think the Commonwealth Games were a massive help.”
Having been handed a bye for the opening round, Marshall must wait until Thursday to begin her title defence against either Yaroslava Yakushina or Costa Rica’s Emily Jimenez. She has never faced Jimenez but defeated the Russian in the semi-finals of the World Combat Games last year.
When Marshall is able to get her campaign underway there will be few people questioning her boxing ability. That, says Smith, is not in doubt. In a strong weight class, she will face a number of difficult challenges but arguably her biggest threat comes from within.
“At the worlds she’s the reigning champion and she can become the first British boxer to win two gold medals so there is a pressure, there always will be,” added Smith.
“What I’ve told her is just to keep cool, keep calm and believe in herself. The fact is that when she steps into the ring she has got the ability, there’s no question about that. She’s in a tough division, she has got a big rival in Claressa Shields who won the gold in London so it’s going to be difficult.
“She just needs to keep calm, get behind that jab and believe in herself because she can match anyone for boxing skills.”
Since London 2012, it is Marshall’s team-mate Nicola Adams who has been seen as the face of British women’s boxing. However, a shoulder injury has ruled her out of the World Championships and provides an opportunity for others to come to the fore.
"Savannah has been a little bit overshadowed by Nicola Adams who obviously won gold in London and again at the Commonwealths,” said Smith. “But Nicola’s not fighting this time at the Worlds so there is the attention on Savannah.
“I think in the last few months she has developed an added understanding of the pressures that she has to deal with, there is a growing maturity with her and I think the confidence that she’ll take from Glasgow that she knows she can go the whole way in a tournament again.”
So with all of that taken into account, how does Marshall’s mentor, a man who has witnessed the rise and fall of many champions during his time in the sport, believe that she will get on in South Korea?
“She can win gold but it is not going to be easy,” he concluded. “I think that hopefully she will just stay calm and won’t let the occasion get to her.
“She wants to get on with it, she’s getting impatient now and she is a naturally nervous person. It is all about trying to conquer those nerves, get into the ring and perform to the best of her ability like we all know that she can.
“It’s an absolute honour to be her mentor and I think she is such a talented young lady, such a nice girl, and she has just got so much ability and dedication as well. She deserves every bit of success.”
The first test for Marshall comes on Thursday and should she prove herself to be mentally ready to overcome that, few would back against her making history in South Korea as she continues her road to Olympic redemption in Rio.
