Marshall title defence moved to April, live on Sky Sports

Savannah Marshall will defend her WBO middleweight world title against Femke Hermans in Newcastle on April 2, as she looks to stay on course for an undisputed clash with Claressa Shields.

The show, which was previously scheduled for March, will see Marshall take on the Belgian former world champion at Newcastle Arena, live on Sky Sports.

Also fighting on the card will be Florian Marku, who looks to continue to his ascent to welterweight world championship contention, and heavyweight Nathan Gorman, who is returning to action after more than a year out of the ring.

The unbeaten Marshall's third defence of the world title she won against Hannah Rankin in October 2020 comes against a dangerous opponent in Hermans, with the pair having previously been set to meet in April 2021 before a positive Covid case in the Belgian's camp forced her to withdraw.

Marshall is seeking to extend the 11-0 start to her professional career, as she looks to secure a hugely anticipated undisputed middleweight world title clash with Shields, who holds the division's three other titles and sits on a 12-0 record.

Marshall was ringside to watch Shields dominate Ema Kozin in Cardiff earlier this month, with the pair becoming embroiled in a war of words following the American's victory.

The fight sees Marshall return to the scene of her most recent victory, a second-round stoppage of Lolita Muzeya in October that extended the Brit's run of stoppage wins to seven.

Hermans is a tough and experienced operator who previously took Shields the distance when she challenged her for the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF world middleweight titles in 2018 and will be hoping to secure a rematch if she can beat Marshall in Newcastle.

"I'm really happy to be going back to