Claressa Shields Makes History with Stunning Victory in Detroit (nuna)

At the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, July 27, Claressa Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) created history, defeating Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-2, 2 KOs) to win the WBC and WBF world heavyweight titles and the vacant WBO light heavyweight title. The entire card was shown live on DAZN in over 200 countries across the globe while being promoted by Salita Promotions.

Claressa Shields Defeats Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

Claressa Shields vs. Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse Recap

After the lengthy ring walks and introductions were done, Shields began the opening round, looking to establish her jab, while Joanisse was eager to get inside. It was a cagey opener, but the GWOAT ended the round strong with an eye-catching flurry.

The second round saw Joanisse begin as the aggressor before Shields proceeded to knock down her opponent three times, which led to the end of the fight in round two. What was most impressive, was her ability to sit down on her punches while remaining accurate. Could Shields stay at Heavyweight?

Post Fight Quotes

In the post-fight interview, Shields was asked about her power and the finish: “I shocked myself, I’m not gonna lie.”

“The GWOAT stays,” Shields exclaimed.

When talking about what could come next: “Maybe I can stay at heavyweight if I can be this strong in the ring.”

“I’m not gonna lie Detroit. Y’all showed up.”

Undercard

Michel Rivera (26-1, 14 KOs) defeated Hugo Alberto Roldan (22-3-1, 7 KOs) in their super lightweight fight by split decision. The judge’s scorecards were 99-90 and 98-91 for Rivera, while the third judge inexplicably scored the contest 95-94 for Roldan.

Julian Smith (9-2, 5 KOs) caused a big upset in the main card opener as he defeated Shohjahon Ergashev (24-2, 21 KOs) by Split decision, with the judges scorecards reading 95-94 for Ergashev, with the other two cards 95-94 for Smith who knocked his Uzbek opponent down in round five.

Preliminary Fights

Cameran Pankey (10-1, 4 KOs) returned to winning ways, defeating Shaileik Paisley (4-5, 3 KOs) in their featherweight bout. The scorecards from all three judges read 60-54.

Josiah Shackleford (4-2, 2 KOs) pulled off a deserved upset, defeating Gordie Russ II (6-2, 6 KOs) in their light-middleweight fight by unanimous decision with the judge’s scorecards reading 59-55 x3.

Husam Al Mashhadi (10-1, 9 KOs) demolished Bruno Leonardo Romay (22-14, 19 KOs), stopping him in the first round of their light middleweight.

Ernesto Mercado (16-0, 15 KOs) was impressive, as he dominated and defeated Hector Edgardo Sarmiento (21-3, 14 KOs) in their super lightweight bout. Sarmiento’s corner decided to wave off the fight at the start of round number four.

Jaquan McElroy (1-0, 0 KOs) defeated Travis Floyd (1-10-2, 0 KOs) on his professional debut in a welterweight contest. The judge’s scorecards read 40-36 and 39-37 x2.

Samantha Worthington (9-0, 7 KOs) defeated Edina Kiss (16-21, 9 KOs) in their super lightweight bout with the corner of Kiss terminating the match-up at the beginning of round three.

Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) overcame a bright start from Christianne Fahey (2-2, 2 KOs) to win their Women’s heavyweight clash by unanimous decision – with the judge’s scorecards reading 60-54 and 59-55 x2.