Claressa Maria Shields is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist. She was born on March 17, 1995. She has held numerous world titles in three weight classes, including the undisputed women’s light middleweight title since March 2021, the undisputed women’s middleweight title from 2019 to 2020, and the combined women’s super middleweight belts from the WBC and IBF from 2017 to 2018. Shields now holds the record for winning the most professional matches before becoming the two- and three-weight world champion. She is listed as the second-best active female boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN and The Ring as of July 2022, according to BoxRecESPN.com.
Shields is the only boxer in history—male or female—to simultaneously hold all four of boxing’s main world championships—the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO—in two weight divisions.
Shields had an illustrious amateur career and became the first American boxer to win back-to-back Olympic medals in the women’s middleweight division in 2012 and 2016. Shields won the 165 lb (75 kg) middleweight division at the U.S. Olympic Trials in February 2012, making him the competition’s youngest boxer. She qualified for the 2012 Olympics in May, the first time women’s boxing had been included as an event, and she later became the first American woman to take home an Olympic gold medal in the sport. Professional or amateur, British fighter Savannah Marshall is the source of her lone defeat. She was recognized as the Female Fighter of the Year in 2018 by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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Early Life
Shields was a junior in high school in Flint, Michigan, where she was born and raised, in May 2012. Her father, Bo Shields, who had competed in clandestine leagues, introduced her to the sport. From the time Shields was two years old until she was nine, Bo was incarcerated. He discussed boxer Laila Ali with her once he was released, piqued her interest in the sport. Bo, however, insisted that Shields wait until she was eleven before taking up boxing because she thought it was a sport for men. At that point, she started boxing at the Berston Field House in Flint, where she also met Jason Crutchfield, her trainer and coach. Shields attributes her grandmother’s encouragement to her decision not to accept limitations because of her gender
Amateur Career
Shields fought in her first open-division competition after taking home two Junior Olympic titles. At the 2011 National Police Athletic League Championships, she won the middleweight title, was named top overall fighter, and earned a spot in the American Olympic Trials. She won the middleweight division in the 2012 Olympic Trials by defeating Pittsburgh’s Tika Hemingway, the reigning national champion Franchón Crews-Dezurn, and the 2010 global champion Andrecia Wasson. She defeated three-time defending world champion Mary Spencer of Canada to win her weight class at the Women’s Elite Continental Championships in Cornwall, Ontario in April 2011. At the time, she had an unblemished record of 25 victories and 0 losses.
Boxing Career
Shields made his professional debut in November 2016. Franchón Crews-Dezurn was the opponent she faced in her maiden match, which she decisively won.
She defeated Szilvia Szabados on March 10, 2017, to win the middleweight championship of the North American Boxing Federation via technical knockout. This contest between Antonio Nieves and Nikolai Potapov for the regional title served as the co-main event on ShoBox. For the first time ever, a women’s boxing match served as the main event on a U.S. premium network show.
CLARESSA SHIELDS BEATS SAVANNAH MARSHALL
Claressa Shields defeated Savannah Marshall on the scorecards to become the new undisputed women’s middleweight champion.
At the opening bell, a rivalry that had been simmering for ten years burst into flames, with both ladies racing into the center of the ring and unleashing their fury. However, Shields had the better-looking outfit because to several striking contrasts.Shields got out to a quick start, but Marshall jumped out in the second and tried to force Shields back onto the ropes. However, the American unified champion made use of her tremendous technical prowess to get out of any circumstance that would have presented a serious threat.
When Shields appeared to be getting exhausted in the sixth, the tide appeared to have changed. Marshall was constantly leaned on by her in an effort to withstand any assaults she could launch, but Shields showed no indications of being harmed by her explosive prowess even as Marshall started to have more success.
Shields regained control after Marshall made a brief comeback, certain that she was ahead statistically. She then employed a cunning move to irritate Marshall, who had been instructed by her trainer Peter Fury to “Give it everything you’ve got” before the final two rounds.
Claressa Shields was declared the undisputed middleweight champion after receiving unanimous decisions of 96-94, 96-94, and 97-93 from the three judges. As the final bell rang, both women received a thunderous ovation from the sold-out O2 Arena crowd who had witnessed a barnstormer of a fight between two of the best women’s boxers in the world.
