Saturday, March 6, 2021

Claressa Shields Strengthens Position as 'GWOAT' After Title Unification Bout

In just her eleventh professional fight, Flint's own Claressa Shields has now become the unified super welterweight champion after defeating IBF belt-holder Marie-Eve Dicaire. Shields, the self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman Of All Time) has added to a growing list of accolades: 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medals, Middleweight unified champion, and Super welterweight unified champion. She is now the only male or female boxer to be a unified champion in two different weight classes. 

While women's boxing hasn't reached the popularity of other women's sports, Friday night was truly groundbreaking. Taking place at the Dort Event Center in Flint, Michigan was the first all-female pay-per-view boxing event in the U.S. and it was headlined by the hometown star Claressa Shields. She has continued to promote herself as the GWOAT and Shields may find herself considered the Serena Williams or Mia Hamm of boxing by the end of her career. What may have appeared to be a close matchup coming closely became a rout as the 17-0 Canadian Marie-Eve Dicaire lost 100-90 (that's ten rounds to zero). Shields delivered a worth show for the hometown crowd of 375.

So what is next for Claressa Shields? Her plans for the rest of 2021 include 1 more boxing event and 2 trips into the octagon as she attempts to break into MMA. Shields will make her MMA debut in June but it is certain that she has unfinished business in boxing. In her post-fight interview Shields called out Savannah Marshall, who handed Shields her only amateur loss. The 9-0 Brit holds the WBA middleweight title. Many eyes will also be on this month's Jessica McCaskill-Cecilia Braekhus rematch with the four major middleweight belts at stake. This means the winner could fight Shields in the biggest blockbuster fight women's boxing has seen. If we haven't all agreed that Claressa is the GWOAT yet, she may prove it soon enough.

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