Advertisements
Claressa Shields has done again.
The “GWOAT” made history at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday night(DAZN) when she destroyed Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse and stopped her in Round 2 after Joanisse’s corner called a halt to the action.
With the win, Shields captured Joanisse’s (7-2, 2 KOs) WBC heavyweight title and grabbed the vacant WBO light heavyweight belt.
In addition, Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) got her first stoppage victory in over seven years.
“I saw her corner stand up after the knockdown,” Shields said. “The fight was over, but I guess the referee wanted me to throw one more right hand to put her down. I put her down three times.”
After this display of power, the 29-year-old Shields hinted that she might stay at this weight class.
“I only hit her with two punches in the first round, and I remember a hook hit her, and I said, ‘Know what, I knew I was strong in camp, but I’m super strong tonight,’” she said. “Maybe I can stay at heavyweight if I’m going to be this strong in the ring.
“You have so many world champions at heavyweight, but I’m the cash cow. Wherever I campaign, I can find a fight. I’m going to talk to my team and decide if we want to go down and defend my middleweight titles or stay at heavyweight and chase more world titles.”
The Flint, Michigan native does have options. Maybe WBC super middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn could be an option; Shields defeated her by unanimous decision in both fighters’ pro debuts. Unified 168-pound champion Savannah Marshall could move up and fight Shields, which would also be a rematch. Shields defeated Marshall in 2022 by a unanimous decision.
The co-featured bout saw world-ranked super lightweight Michel Rivera (26-1, 14 KOs) defeat Argentina’s Hugo Alberto Roldan (22-3-1, 7 KOs). After controlling the majority of the fight by utilizing his range, Rivera scored a knockdown in the 10th round to seal a split decision and, perhaps, set himself up for another world title opportunity in the stacked 140-pound division.
Opening the highly anticipated televised card, Illinois’ Julian Smith (9-2, 5 KOs) upset former world title challenger Shohjahon Ergashev (24-2, 21 KOs) via split decision after a back-and-forth brawl between the super lightweights.
Photo: Adam Dewey / Salita Promotions)