Claressa Shields will return to motion on Saturday, June 3, dealing with Hanna Gabriels in a rematch for Shields’ undisputed middleweight championship in Detroit.
Shields (13-0, 2 KO) principally has no person to combat at 160 lbs, if we’re all prepared to be trustworthy in regards to the depth of that division and the truth that she has now dominated it twice over; in a means, her win over Savannah Marshall final October in London, which made Shields a two-time undisputed middleweight champ, was form of a “sequence finale” on something fascinating Shields has to do in boxing, as a result of she has merely been too good, and he or she has run by way of everybody there was to combat within the final six years and alter.
She’s gained world titles at tremendous middleweight, twice gone undisputed at 160, and gone undisputed at 154. The present prime fighters at 154 are actually 130 lb fighters (Natasha Jonas and Terri Harper), and apart from a Marshall rematch, there isn’t a lot there for her, both. A 168 lb rematch with undisputed champ Franchon Crews-Dezurn — the 2 turned professional towards each other in 2016 — appeared her greatest possibility apart from Marshall.
And it might have been. Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KO) has fought as soon as within the final 4 years, a bout in Costa Rica the place she beat an 11-9 opponent for the WBA gentle heavyweight and WBC heavyweight titles, two divisions that merely do probably not exist in ladies’s boxing. The 40-year-old Gabriels is a former multiple-time titlist at 154 lbs.
The “warmth” for this combat could also be that Gabriels scored a knockdown towards Shields within the first spherical of their 2018 bout, which was Shields’ sixth professional combat. Shields went on to win on scores of 97-92, 97-92, and 98-91.
This actually simply comes right down to numbers, and the truth that there simply aren’t many high quality ladies’s boxers over 140 lbs. These at 147 or at present campaigning at 154 are too small to be notably fascinating Shields opponents. Should you assume I’m exaggerating, verify the BoxRec listings at 160 and 168; there’s actually no person notable she hasn’t already crushed, apart from Shadasia Inexperienced and perhaps Raquel Miller.
Some essential followers are calling it a “cherry decide” on social media, however the reality is there’s virtually no person round that Claressa Shields hasn’t already crushed, and convincingly. If she’s going to maintain boxing — and keep in mind that she remains to be simply 28 years outdated — then yeah, we’re most likely going to be entering into extra reruns after this.
