Claressa Shields (Picture by Terrell Groggins/Getty Photographs)
Claressa Shields ran her skilled file to an ideal 17-0 as she received a unanimous resolution over Lani Daniels at Little Caesars Area in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday. The judges scored the battle 100-90 and 99-91 twice.
Shields was on the assault from the start. She stalked Daniels trying to land large pictures, however the challenger confirmed robust defensive abilities, evading nearly the entire GWOAT’s heavy punches within the early rounds.
Whereas Daniels didn’t rating with a lot and was rightfully shut out on one choose’s card, she did seem to frustrate Shields along with her motion.
Shields was capable of gradual Daniels down as she started to go to the physique. Daniels then was resigned to commerce punches with Shields, and whereas she confirmed toughness, she was no match for the multi-division champion and future Corridor-of-Famer. The group in Detroit cheered on the hometown star as she continued to land extra incessantly and convincingly, particularly within the closing rounds.
The perfect second of the battle got here throughout an alternate within the ninth spherical when Shields’ pace and punching prowess have been on full show.
She lit Daniels up with laborious pictures, however the robust New Zealander took them and soldiered on.
There was no controversy within the consequence, and reactions from across the boxing world adopted swiftly. DAZN Boxing’s X channel gave a glimpse of Shields’ greatest moments within the battle:
Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson appeared to poke enjoyable at Daniels’ strategy. The challenger did quite a lot of working—particularly early within the battle:
All of the Smoke Boxing captured a microcosm of the battle in a single publish:
After the battle, Shields talked about Daniels’ avoiding the battle, however moved on rapidly to say her subsequent strikes. This bout was Shields’ final on her contract with Salita Promotions, and Dmitry Salita stood by her aspect in what could be the closing second of their partnership.
It felt like Shields will probably be shifting on to signal with a bigger promoter, however she made certain to publicly credit score Salita for guiding her so far in her profession.
Fairly truthfully, it will likely be robust for Salita to retain Shields. He’ll be hard-pressed to match what Matchroom or MVP Promotions can provide the GWOAT. A transfer to Eddie Hearn or Jake Paul wouldn’t be shocking—and would make future bouts with Shadasia Inexperienced, Savannah Marshall, or every other main identify in ladies’s boxing a lot simpler to safe.
Daniels did not converse on digital camera after the battle, however she does deserve credit score for the protection and toughness she displayed in a loss.
I would suspect Shields’ subsequent battle to be a significant occasion on Netflix or DAZN beneath a brand new promoter. She’s on the cusp of taking one other step in her already legendary profession.
