Claressa Shields will look to become an undisputed champion in her fifth weight class when she faces Danielle Perkins in a heavyweight clash on Sunday at the Dort Financial Center in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
The event begins at 7:30 PM (ET) and will be streamed live on DAZN.
Shields and Perkins weighed in on Saturday. Shields came in under the light heavyweight limit at 173.6 pounds, while Perkins tipped the scales at 177.2 pounds.
Shields remains undefeated at 15-0 with 3 KOs. The GWOAT will be defending her WBC heavyweight title, while the vacant WBA, IBF, and WBO belts will also be on the line.
Perkins, 42 years old, enters this fight with limited experience, having just five professional bouts under her belt, though she remains undefeated. Both fighters last competed in July 2024 on the same card in Detroit.
That night, Shields secured a second-round TKO over Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in the main event, capturing the WBO light heavyweight, WBC, and WBF heavyweight titles. Meanwhile, Perkins won a unanimous decision over Christianne Fahey.
Given their placement on the same card in July, this matchup was likely part of a broader plan for Shields’ quest to become undisputed in yet another weight class. With her 30th birthday approaching next month, she may choose to remain at light heavyweight and heavyweight for the remainder of her career.
If that’s the case, Shields could become a trailblazer for heavier divisions in women’s boxing. Traditionally, most of the focus has been on lower-weight classes. The question remains—can Shields help bring greater attention to the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions in women’s boxing?
It’s certainly possible, but to do so, she’ll need to continue winning and face opponents with stronger résumés than Perkins. Still, this bout is expected to be historic, and the atmosphere will be electric as Shields’ hometown fans rally behind her.
Here is a look at the upcoming boxing schedule following Shields vs. Perkins.
Saturday, February 8, 2025
- Dereck Chisora vs. Otto Wallin
- Location: Co-Op Live Arena, Manchester, GB
- Time: 2:00 PM (ET)
Friday, February 14, 2025
- WBO World Lightweight Championship: (c) Denys Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn Davis
- Xander Zayas vs. Slawa Spomer
- Vito Mielnicki vs. Connor Coyle
- Jared Anderson vs. Marios Kollias
- Abdullah Mason vs. Manuel Jaimes
- Location: The Theater at MSG, New York City, US
- Time: 8:00 PM (ET)
Saturday, February 15, 2025
- Jack Catterall vs. Arnold Barboza
- Location: Co-Op Live Arena, Manchester, GB
- Time: Noon (ET)
- Oscar Duarte vs. Regis Prograis
- Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California, US
- Time: 8:00 PM (ET)
Saturday, February 22, 2025
- The Ring, WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Light Heavyweight Championship: (c) Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol
- IBF Heavyweight Championship: (c) Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
- WBC Lightweight Championship: (c) Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
- WBC Middleweight Championship: (c) Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov
- Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith
- Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
- Location: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, SA
- Time: Noon (ET)
Monday, February 24, 2025
- WBC World Bantamweight Championship: (c) Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Contreras
- Location: Ariake Arena, Tokyo, JP
- Time: 2:00 AM (ET)
Saturday, March 1, 2025
- WBA World Lightweight Championship: (c) Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr.
- Location: Barclays Center, New York City, US
- Time: 8:00 PM (ET)
Friday, March 7, 2025
- The Ring Welterweight Championship: (c) Natasha Jonas vs. Lauren Price
- Location: Royal Albert Hall, London, GB
- Time: 1:00 PM (ET)
Saturday, March 15, 2025
- WBA World Featherweight Championship: (c) Nick Ball vs. TJ Doheny
- Location: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, GB
- Time: 1:00 PM (ET)
Sunday, March 16, 2025
- Callum Walsh vs. Dean Sutherland
- Location: The Theater at MSG, New York City, US
- Time: 9:00 PM (ET)
