Claressa Shields becomes two-time undisputed boxing champ

Boxer Claressa Shields became an undisputed champion for the second time in a second division by defeating Marie-Eve Dicaire by unanimous decision.

Claressa Shields further cemented her legacy as a boxing great by becoming an undisputed champion in her second division by defeating previously unbeaten Marie-Eve Dicaire.

Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) came into her Friday, March 5 bout with Dicaire with the WBO and WBC junior middleweight titles. She took Dicaire’s IBF title and the WBA “super” belt, winning by shut-out unanimous decision. Shields is the first boxer in history to win all four titles in two different divisions.

Dicaire (17-1, 0 KOs) tried her best and stayed active until the very end, but she was wary of Shields’ power and could never find her rhythm. The Canadian fighter’s southpaw stance and frenetic movement made things awkward, but Shields never had a problem.

Good things come to Shields in twos. She was a two-time amateur world champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and now a two-time undisputed champion in her second division.

Shields first became an undisputed champion in 2019 when she defeated Christina Hammer to clean out the middleweight division. Overall, Shields has held titles in three different weight classes. She was asked after the fight if she would be willing to drop down to 147 to fight undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor, in a lightweight contest.

Shields said that Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn would have to pay her a lot of money to lose that much weight. It’s unlikely that a weight cut of that amount would be in the cards for Shields but money talks.

Claressa Shields added to her accolades with her unanimous decision victory over Marie-Eve Dicaire, which should boost her marketability further

Shields also said in her post-fight interview that she plans on making her PFL debut in May. She signed a deal with the MMA promotion in December of 2020.

Shields defeated Dicaire in front of a Flint, Michigan hometown crowd of 375 fans at the Dort Federal Event Center. It was Shields’ first time fighting in her hometown, although she was supposed to fight there in 2019 against Ivana Habazin, but the fight was canceled after Shields’ brother Artis Mack assaulted and severely injured Habazin’s trainer James Ali Bashir.

Mack ultimately accepted a plea deal to receive a one-year sentence.

Shields decided to stage her fight independently with her promoter, Salita Promotions, after failing to reach a desirable deal with one of the major television or streaming broadcast companies. She effectively bet on herself to be a draw and streamed the fight via pay-per-view on the FITE.TV app.

Shields stated numerous times before the fight that the sport of boxing was sexist, which added to her difficulties in landing a broadcast partner for her fight.

“They’re sexist and can’t handle strong women,” said Shields of major networks, according to The New York Times. “They’re always yelling equality, equal pay, equal opportunities, but they don’t mean it.”

Shields made history against Dicaire, but the fight card as a whole was a disappointment. The undercards were lopsided in their matchmaking and didn’t offer much in terms of competitive boxing. Still, Shields should be commended for taking a chance and believing in her star power because she is one of the best boxers in the world.