Claressa Shields entered the ring at her heaviest fighting weight and left with the quickest win of her career.
The self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time) won her fourth divisional with a second-round, technical knockout of Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse. Three knockdowns forced a stoppage at 1:09 of round two Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
With the win, Shields claimed the WBC heavyweight (though technically light heavyweight) and WBO 175-pound titles in the DAZN main event. She is now a four-division champ after a stellar amateur career where she won back-to-back Olympic Gold medals.
“I shocked myself, I’m not gonna lie,” Shields told DAZN’s Al Bernstein.
Shields (15-0, 3 knockouts) hadn’t enjoyed a knockout finish in seven years, almost to the day. Her last one came in her first title win, an Aug. 2017 5th round stoppage of Nikki Adler also in Detroit. Shields won the WBC and IBF super middleweight titles that evening to begin her pound-for-pound run.
Championship wins followed at middleweight, junior middleweight and back to middleweight. Shields fully unified the divisions (twice at 160) but has already run out of challenges at those weights. Evidence of that was in her inactive stretch of nearly 14 months.
With that came the decision to climb further up the scale.
Lepage-Joanisse (7-2, 2 KOs) attempted the first defense of the title she won earlier this year. The 29-year-old Quebec native edged Abril Argentina Vidal (10-2, 4 KOs) via split decision on March 7 in Montreal. It was her fourth straight win following a stoppage defeat to Alejandra Jimenez in their Aug. 2017 WBC heavyweight title fight.
Shields proceeded with caution in the opening round. Primarily a boxer (and a gifted one at that), the intent was to feel out the naturally heavier Lepage-Joanisse and test her own power in a new weight.
The returns were a pleasant surprise.
“I went in there real slow in the first round,” acknowledged Shields, who was a career heaviest 174.8 pounds. “I’m no dummy. Vanessa is a heavyweight and she was punching.
“When the hook hit her, I was like damn. I knew I was strong in camp and I was super strong [on Saturday]. Maybe I can stay at heavyweight.”
Lepage-Joanisse was visibly rocked near the end of the first round. Shields kept throwing punches until the bell. Despite the defending titlist remaining on her feet, the confidence was there that the stoppage was on its way.
Shields delivered in a big way.
A clean right hand floored Lepage-Joanisse early in the second round. Referee Ben Rodriguez issued a count while Lepage-Joanisse’s corner appeared ready to stop the fight. Shields was summoned to continue and sent her down twice more before the fight was brought to a halt.
“I guess the ref wanted me to throw one more right hand to put her down,” noted Shields. “The GWOAT stays.”
The question now is whether Shields will stay at this weight.
The fight was billed as a heavyweight title fight, only because of how the
BC brands anything above 168 pounds. Shields believes she can still fight as low as 154 for the right opportunity, or back to 160 where she remains the undisputed champion.
The feeling of not having to cut weight also has her considering a future in her most recently conquered division.
“I’m the cash cow, the girls who got the belts at 168 gotta come up to fight me,” insisted Shields. “It’s just 175. It wouldn’t be that big of a leap.”
Shields is now 12-0 (2 KOs) in title fight spanning four weight division and The Ring’s reigning pound-for-pound queen.
