World boxing champion lights up The Oval

One of the world’s greatest boxers chose a perfect venue to get a taste of Cymru Premier League football at the weekend.

Former WBO female middleweight champion Savannah Marshall was at The Oval last Friday watching the game between Caernarfon Town and Aberystwyth Town.

She was there to see her nephew, Aberystwyth midfielder Harry Arnison go through his paces against the Cofis.

The son of former Football League professional Paul Arnison, who played for Carlisle United and Hartlepool United among other clubs, Harry has spent most of his playing career in Australia, but returned to the UK in June.

Aberystwyth lost 2-1 at Caernarfon, but both sets of fans were almost as interested in the celebrity in the stands as they were of the action on the field.

Savannah, 31, recently took part in a huge profile multi-title fight against American Claressa Shields, regarded by many as the world’s greatest female boxer.

The Hartlepool woman lost on a unanimous decision, but put up a tremendous fight against the massively gifted Shields.

Savannah had handed Shields her last defeat in the amateurs 10 years previously, but was unable to repeat the feat at the O2 Arena in London on October 15.

The County Durham boxer, 31,held the WBO female middleweight title between 2020 and 2022. As an amateur, she became the first British female world champion after securing gold at the 2012 World Championships.

Nicknamed as the ‘Silent Assassin’ due to her shyness and her multiple knockout wins, as of October 2022, she is ranked as the world’s second best active female middleweight by BoxRec and The Ring magazine.

At last Friday’s match, Savannah happily posed for photos at The Oval with supporters from both sides.

Caernarfon Town were extremely happy to accommodate her and spoke highly of how the boxer came across on the night.

The club’s Twitter account said: “We were delighted to welcome former WBO World Middleweight Champion @Savmarshall1 to The Oval last night.

“Savannah at the match to see her nephew play for Aber and was as friendly and approachable as you could expect.”