Claressa Shields successfully defended her undisputed heavyweight championship with a lopsided unanimous decision over Franchon Crews vs. Dezurun on Sunday night in Detroit.
Fighting in front of his home crowd, Shields improved to 18-0 with identical scores of 100-90 on all three cards, while super middleweight titleholder Cruz Dezurun fell to 10-3.
“I had to take my time tonight,” Shields said after the game. “That was one of the toughest matches I’ve had in my professional career. She’s been hitting hard lately.”
The bout was a rematch of their professional debut on November 19, 2016, which Shields also won by unanimous decision.
Tensions between the fighters remained high, spilling over into heated showdowns and clashes between the teams at the pre-fight weigh-in.
Crudezrun was diagnosed by doctors with knee and ankle problems on Sunday morning, but was cleared to play.
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Claressa Shields pushes Franchon Crews vs. Dezurun at the final weigh-in before the heavyweight bout. Credit: DAZN
Both fighters came out aggressive in the opening rounds, but Shields quickly asserted control with superior hand speed. After the final bell rang, the two exchanged words and eventually hugged.
Shields, a pioneering two-time Olympic gold medalist, moved up from her original middleweight division last year and unified the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF belts in her new weight class, becoming women’s boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion.
The fight was the first of Shields’ new £5.9m multi-fight contract and drew large crowds to the home arenas of the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons.
In the co-main event, a light heavyweight bout between Atif Oberton (14-0) and Joseph George (13-2) ended abruptly after one round with George collapsing in his corner. Paramedics treated him and he was eventually able to leave the ring on his own.
On the undercard, American light heavyweight Daniel Perkins (6-1) defeated Australia’s Che Kennelly (5-1) by sixth round KO to win the WBA light heavyweight title.
