She did it.
Claressa Shields became the first five-division champion in women’s boxing history, winning the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles with a second-round KO over Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.
It wasn’t close, but Shields’ performance was nonetheless impressive. Fighting in front of her home state fans in Detroit, Michigan, and with Hall-of-Famers like Thomas “Hitman” Hearns in the building, Shields made her fans proud.
Displaying the same punching accuracy and sharpness that we’ve seen from her entire boxing career, Shields added some uncharacteristic power to produce just the third KO win of her career and her first since 2017.
Here is a look at the finish:
Lepage-Joanise had no answers for Shields. She was utterly outclassed from the opening bell. As she compares to some of Shields’ more recent competition, Lepage-Joanise comes in well behind Sarah Marshall and others.
However, considering Shields won gold medals and her first world at middleweight, winning legitimate championships at light heavyweight and heavyweight on the same night holds some value.
Shields may also head back to the Professional Fighters League to continue her mixed martial arts career, which has helped to expand her combat sports profile. When you examine Shields’ accomplishments closely, it could be argued that she has the best resume of any combat sports athlete in history.
Shields has won two gold medals, three amateur world championships, boxing world titles in five weight classes, and has managed a 2-1 MMA career. There is no other fighter in boxing who has accomplished more than Shields. Critics will point to Shields’ level of competition, and that concept has some validity.
However, Shields can only fight the opponents who are there for her to fight. She has never ducked any reasonable opponent and has consistently pushed the envelope regarding weight and sport to solidify her superiority over all her peers–especially in women’s boxing and arguably across both genders.
Shields is still just 29, so she has a long combat sports career ahead of her if she wants to fight deep into her 30s. As for the next opponents in boxing, Shields could have a rematch with another legend of women’s boxing, Franchon Crews-Dezurn.
Shields defeated Crews-Dezurn in her pro debut in 2016, and the two have become friends since their in-ring meeting. It would be interesting to see if the two women would consider having a rematch for what could be one of the most intriguing women’s boxing matches in a higher weight class.
Shields could also face Shadasia Green. Jake Paul’s Most Valued Promotions promotes the latter. Paul and Green both have business relationships with the PFL, which could provide a solid crossover.
Green is coming off a unanimous decision win over Latasha Spence on July 20, as she fought on the undercard of Paul’s win over Mike Perry.
How much bigger could Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson in November be if he added Shields vs. Green to the undercard and the rematch between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor?
These comments are purely speculative but not beyond the realm of possibility. In any case, Shields’ Saturday night performance only helped put her in a good position for another opportunity.
