Claressa Shields continues to break new ground in boxing. The seemingly unstoppable Shields earned a historic undisputed status in a second weight class, dominating IBF 154lbs champion Marie-Eve Dicaire to unify the women’s super-welterweight titles before a Covid-19 restricted hometown crowd at Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Michigan, on Friday night.
With the win, WBC and WBO title holder Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) became the first ever two-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era, female or male, having also picked up the vacant WBA ‘Super’ crown with the victory over Canadian Dicaire (17-1, 0 KOs). Previously the undisputed champ at middleweight, Shields cantered to victory, earning a 100-90 nod on all three judges’ scorecards.
Having proclaimed herself the second greatest fighter of all-time earlier in the week behind Muhammad Ali, Shields once more illustrated her total dominance in the mid-range weight divisions of women’s boxing. The American has cleaned out two divisions inside 11 fights and there are effectively no challenges remaining in those weight classes.
“[I won] 100-190, I can’t be mad about it. But she just kept head-butting me and elbowing me. And I was trying to get the knockout. That’s really what I wanted, and I almost had it a couple times,” Shields told FITE TV’s Dan Canobbio in her post-fight interview. “But we [only] got two minutes [a round in women’s boxing] and then we got the ref breaking up the fight for 30 seconds when she’s holding and fucking elbowing me and stuff.
“I’m happy, but I still wanted the KO, and I just didn’t have enough time. But at the end of the day, I am the new undisputed champion at 154, the first boxer to do it in history – undisputed twice. And I did it here in Flint, Michigan, so to all the people in Flint, I love y’all. Thank y’all for coming. Everybody who ordered the pay-per-view, thank you so much. Hopefully, I didn’t disappoint. I don’t think I did.”
Southpaw Dicaire applied pressure and brought commitment but was simply outclassed and frequently forced back in to survival mode by the vastly superior American.
Shields battered her foe with a two-fisted flurry in the sixth round, but the Canadian managed to weather the storm. Dicaire sought a late, table-turning knockout, but was handily picked off as the 25-year-old Shields delighted her hometown fans with another momentous victory.