Claressa Shields became a four-weight world champion in sensational fashion by stopping Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in two rounds on Saturday in Detroit.
Shields, 29, claimed the WBC heavyweight and WBO light-heavyweight titles, unifying the 12st 7lb (175lb) division in the process.
The undefeated American floored Lepage-Joanisse three times in quick succession, beginning with a counter right-hand.
The referee stopped the contest after the third knockdown as Shields secured her first stoppage since 2017.
“The newfound power does feel good,” Shields said.
“I shocked myself, I’m not going to lie.”
The two-time Olympic gold medallist is now unbeaten in 15 pro fights and has held world titles at super-middleweight, middleweight and light-middleweight since turning pro in 2016.
The WBC title Shields won is classified as heavyweight by the sanctioning body, but it is contested at the light-heavyweight limit of 12st 7lb, hence why the fight was advertised as both at heavyweight and light-heavyweight.
Shields could defend her new title in her next bout or move back down in weight, with the likes of Liverpool fighter Natasha Jonas a possible opponent for her.
“I’ve had some great performances, but is it my best knockout? Absolutely,” Shields said.
“But is it my best performance? I have fought so many great fighters and I have looked very, very good.”
Shields said that she had “10 days to decide” if she would continue at heavyweight, adding that while she thinks she can “campaign at any weight class”, she would discuss her next move with her team.
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Shields grew up poor in Flint, Michigan, and has earned enough money to become rich at 28. Still, she laments the gender inequities in boxing.
Shields is 13-0 with two knockouts. She turned pro in 2016 after becoming the first U.S. boxer of any gender to win consecutive Olympic gold medals and is averaging two fights a year.
In a video posted on Instagram, Fury confirmed his decision to retire from boxing.
Fury retires as a two-time heavyweight world champion, having first won the title by defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. After a three-year hiatus, he returned to beat Deontay Wilder in their 2020 rematch to claim the WBC title. Fury successfully defended his crown against Wilder again in 2021 and later against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022.
So what happened is, that Tank, despite having a bout against Lamont Roach Jr. scheduled for March 1, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, hopped on an Instagram live session recently to make a bold statement. Confident as ever, he said, “I’ll tax that a– again. Tell them boys to give me $150 m’s. I’m coming,” while being asked about a Ryan Garcia rematch.
Gervonta Davis’ strategy is another factor to consider. While Ryan Garcia has made adjustments, Gervonta Davis is unlikely to change much about his approach. The WBA lightweight champion is a smart fighter. The first fight was a perfect example of how he can break down an opponent’s defense with his patience and timing. “Tank would likely stick to his game plan of staying patient, reading Garcia’s movements, and capitalizing on mistakes,” the model asserted.
Gervonta Davis’ strategy is another factor to consider. While Ryan Garcia has made adjustments, Gervonta Davis is unlikely to change much about his approach. The WBA lightweight champion is a smart fighter. The first fight was a perfect example of how he can break down an opponent’s defense with his patience and timing. “Tank would likely stick to his game plan of staying patient, reading Garcia’s movements, and capitalizing on mistakes,” the model asserted.
Fury’s announcement comes after he was beaten by Oleksandr Usyk in a unanimous decision on December 21 in their rematch, which saw the Ukrainian unify the heavyweight world titles.
Though ‘Money’ Mayweather hasn’t had the same impact as Ali away from the sport, he changed the game in many ways. Perhaps the best defensive fighter of all time, Mayweather claimed four of the top five biggest selling pay-per-view events ever on his way to a perfect 50-0 record and titles in five divisions.
Mayweather doesn’t buy that the more thrilling the fight the better the fighter, rather that he proved he was the greatest by completely outclassing those who stepped in the ring with him.
The event generated in excess of $300m in total revenue, with Mayweather pocketing $180m of that.
Mayweather is now reported to have a car collection worth around £20m in the present day, including the gift to himself in 2015.
And he has since claimed that he earns a mammoth $300m per month even after his professional career ended.
Usyk has cleared out all of the main competition in the heavyweight division in the last six years since moving up from cruiserweight. He left the weight class below as undisputed champion and recently repeated that feat at heavyweight. He twice beat Anthony Joshua to relive him of his three world titles and then defend them in a second fight, and wasn’t significantly hurt in either on his way to a brace of points victories.
This is the natural next fight for these long time British rivals and would be a legacy defining contest that would be of great interest to fans.
The big hitter from Baltimore has said he would knock Crawford out in the past, perhaps tongue in cheek, but the bigger man has warned him not to punch above his weight. Whilst a fight is highly unlikely to ever take place, some believe it wouldn’t be a foregone conclusion.
Cause they both have very high IQs and Tank is very explosive. That’s the one thing that Tank got that Errol [Spence] didn’t have. In boxing, an explosive fighter can go a lot of places. I was only able to cover the weights that I covered because I was so explosive. Explosiveness keeps people in check.”
“But I can really see Joshua winning that fight, to be honest. If he goes in and does what he has to do and does not think so much. I think Joshua thinks a lot. He doubts himself a lot as well. I don’t think he has a lot of self-motivation or self-confidence.
“I think the brands are so strong,” DuBoef told Sky Sports. “In the UK, the country would stop for an hour to see what happens and I think that’s a wonderful thing. They’re like peanut butter and jelly, Joshua and Fury, they go together.”
“Fury is a massive favourite but I think in general he was always a slight favourite (against Joshua),” Jones told the 5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce podcast.