Having claimed titles at 154, 160, and 168, Claressa Shields is about to problem a fourth division when she meets WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse atop a July twenty seventh DAZN present in Detroit.
To make clear my wording: Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KO) beat former tremendous welterweight title challenger Abril Argentina Vidal for the title this previous March and Salita Promotions says that belt can be on the road, however each DAZN and Shields (14-0, 2 KO) said that the bout can be at mild heavyweight. Lepage-Joanisse weighed in at 173.25 final trip, in order that is sensible, however I’m uncertain what all {hardware} is concerned.
As you may think, the ladies’s expertise pool isn’t significantly deep above 168, with BoxRec itemizing a grand complete of 17 mild heavyweights and 22 heavyweights. Lepage-Joanisse is BoxRec’s no. 1 amongst these 22, however no. 4 Tinta Smith is 1-2-1, which ought to inform you one thing. Lepage-Joanisse’s solely opponent of observe was future tremendous middleweight champ Alejandra Jimenez in 2017; Lepage-Joanisse weighed in at 231 and obtained stopped in three.
Nonetheless, what all choices does Shields have? Battle Alycia Baumgardner, a lady not less than 24 kilos smaller than her? Beat up Franchon Crews-Dezurn once more? Grit out one other cut up determination in PFL? I’d watch an MMA rematch with Savannah Marshall, who makes her cage debut this Saturday, however that’s about it. There aren’t any extra significant worlds to beat, not less than not ones inside her attain.
“The Queen of Boxing is again! I’m so excited to return to the ring, particularly after my MMA victory in February,” Shields mentioned. “I’m excited to convey one other entertaining battle to Little Caesars Area. Final time 12,000 followers stuffed the sector, and this time we’re going to elevate the roof off the constructing!
“This can be a important and distinctive battle the place I’m shifting up two weight courses towards a really robust champion in my quest to grow to be world champion in my fourth weight division. It’s an thrilling time for girls’s sports activities, and I thank DAZN for offering a world platform for girls’s boxing. I plan to do what I do greatest: convey that GWOAT power and proceed placing girls’s boxing on the map.”