Claressa Shields won her undisputed heavyweight title fight against Lani Daniels on Saturday night, but she nearly found herself in a tiff with a friend and potential future opponent.
Franchón Crews-Dezurn, a former undisputed super middleweight champion, was in Detroit for Shields’ fight and it seems she was under the impression there would be an opportunity for a faceoff with the GWOAT. This is often done to hint at and promote the next big fight between the winner and their next potential opponent.
When no faceoff materialized, Crews-Dezurn took to social media to voice her concern. She called the lack of action “corny AF,” and suggested someone in charge was playing games. Shields saw the post and responded to clarify the situation.
Here’s the exchange between the two fighters.
Crews-Dezurn feels she wasted her time coming to Detroit expecting to face off with Shields—cutting it close with another business engagement—only to be ignored by the GWOAT and her team.
This is a potential future fight, and Shields doesn’t have a ton of opposition to face with a respectable resume. Crews-Dezurn, whom she fought and defeated in both women’s professional debut, is one who could help Shields sell a fight.
Shields and Crews-Dezurn have supported each other through the years, and there appears to have been a reconciliation online after the initial smoke. Shields asked her followers not to come for Crews-Dezurn in a follow-up post.
However, Crews-Dezurn didn’t back down from her original stance, though she did tell Shields she loves her. Shields accepted Crews-Dezurn’s statement and clearly is trying to salvage their relationship.
Shields is at an interesting point in her career. The 30-year-old future Hall-of-Famer just had the last fight on her promotional contract with Dmitry Salita. She is a promotional free agent and could be signed by Matchroom or even Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions.
That said, Crews-Dezurn is a serious possibility as a next opponent and this story could continue to build over the next few months. Shields has called out Savannah Marshall, another top-notch fighter in her weight region that she’s already beaten, Shadasia Green and retired legend Laila Ali.
There was reportedly a $15 million offer made to Ali for the fight, but the 47-year-old hasn’t responded. Nevertheless, something significant is coming up for Shields before the end of the year.
