On Sunday night, February 2nd, at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, Claressa Shields made history as she defeated Danielle Perkins and became the first female boxer to win the undisputed heavyweight title.
In the opening round of the contest, the first thing fight fans noticed was the size advantage Danielle Perkins held over Claressa Shields. Standing at 6 foot even, Perkins had a four inch height advantage, and at the official weigh-in, Perkins weighed 177.2 pounds, while Shields weighed in at 173.6.
On fight night it looked like Perkins rehydrated in between the neighborhood of the 190-200 pound mark. Once the bell sounded to officially start the match, Perkins utilized the southpaw stance as she tried to establish the jab, but when she threw the jab, Shields countered by landing a sharp combination.
In the second round Shields focused on landing the jab and the right hand to the body. In the final seconds of round number two, Perkins pressed forward, but Shields looked comfortable fighting off the back foot as she hit Perkins with another eye-catching combination.
At the start of the third round, Shields landed an overhand right that knocked Perkins off balance. During the remainder of the 3rd, Shields landed multiple overhand rights, but Perkins showed resilience as she went into survival mode for the rest of the round.
In the sixth round, Perkins was able to press forward and force Shields into a corner, but she wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity. Later on in the sixth, Shields landed a left hook followed by another big right hand. As time was winding down in the 7th, Shields connected with another big right hand, and she closed out the round by landing a flurry of punches.
Perkins came out in the ninth trying to be more aggressive as she pressed forward and got hit by a big left-hand counter shot. Perkins continued to press forward, but her spacing wasn’t up to par as she was smothering her work.
In the 10th and final round, Danielle Perkins was looking for a miracle while Claressa Shields was ready to close the show. Perkins was aggressive, but with 13 seconds remaining, Shields landed a big right hand that sent Perkins down to the canvas.
Perkins was able to rise to her feet, and a few seconds later, the bell sounded to officially end the championship bout. In the end, Claressa Shields earned the unanimous decision victory by the scores of (100-89, 97-92, 99-90).
With the win, Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) became the first boxer to earn the distinction of being a three-division undisputed world champion. During her post-fight interview, Shields explained that she didn’t use her jab that much due to the fact that she injured her left shoulder during training camp.
As far as her plans for the remainder of 2025, Shields wants to step in the ring two more times. Her potential list of opponents includes Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Savannah Marshall, MMA legend Cris Cyborg, and retired boxing legend Laila Ali.
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