Claressa ShieldsTerrell Groggins/Getty Images
Claressa Shields continued her case as the GWOAT with a unanimous decision win over Danielle Perkins to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in front of a hometown crowd at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan.
The stark size difference was noticable from the jump. Perkins’ build as a legitimate heavyweight towered over Shields.
However, it didn’t take long for the big skills gap to show up either. Shields took it to her opponent and immediately put pressure on Perkins to return fire.
The GWOAT had her first major moment in the third round when she rocked Perkins with a clean right hand.
Perkins did settle in to some degree after the first few rounds. Former welterweight champion Shawn Porter gave Perkins a round after she forced Shields into some exchanges.
If there’s a criticism to be made of Shields it was that she may have taken her foot off the gas in the later rounds. She was countering Perkins hard, but wasn’t exactly going all-out to finish the fight.
That was, until she landed an absolute missile of a right hand that floored Perkins in the final seconds.
Shields had previously won the WBC heavyweight championship, but her victory over Perkins added the previously vacant WBO and IBF championship belts to her stacked trophy case. Shields now holds active belts in three different weight classes with two middleweight titles and the WBO light heavyweight championship currently on her resume.
In total, Shields has won world titles in five different weight classes and it’s hard to come up with who can really give her a challenge on paper.
The 29-year-old wasn’t even calling out any of her potential opponents in women’s boxing. She did, however, have some words for YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
“Jake Paul cannot beat me in a fight,” she told Patrick Snell of CNN. “Anybody who thinks that needs to just go and wash their face and brush their teeth and kind of wake up and smell the real air in the world.”
She went on to say that she didn’t think Paul would accept a fight against her but extended an invitation to spar with her.
That alone would probably do well if it were offered as a public broadcast.
As it stands, the biggest challenge for Shields is going to be finding opponents that can generate some interest in her fights. Shields has mentioned IBF light heavyweight champion Lani Daniels as a possible challenger and undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Che Kenneally could be another option.
But Shields would still be a prohibitive favorite against those world champions.
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