By Vince D’Writer: The undisputed middleweight champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields entertained her home crowd at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan as she successfully defended her title in dominant fashion with an impressive unanimous decision victory over top contender Maricela Cornejo (16-6, 6 KOs).
Prior to the start of the undisputed championship bout, the crowd was entertained by prominent natives of the city of Detroit. Shields was escorted to the ring by Detroit rapper/actress Kash Doll, and the national anthem was sung by Motown’s legendary group, The Four Tops.
It’s been seven years since the defending champion Claressa Shields had a stoppage victory, and she was determined to end the streak on the night of June 3rd. Shields started the opening round by landing a big left hand shot, and ended the round by connecting on a series of hard right hands.
Cornejo looked to bounce back in round 2 as she landed a combination early in the round. Shields would proceed to take over, as she loaded up the right hand, and fired it early and often. During the course of the first five rounds, it was a one-sided fight as Shields stunned Cornejo with the looping right hand on multiple occasions.
Prior to the start of round 6, Shields was asked to throw the straight right hand, and Shields proceeded to deliver. Early in the seventh round she overwhelmed Cornejo with a flurry of shots, and in the closing seconds of round 7, the defending champion landed a straight right hand that snapped her opponent’s head back.
The last three rounds of the bout consisted of Shields continuing to connect with the right hand, and Cornejo displaying a big heart, and a granite chin. Shields didn’t produce a knockout, but she did collect a unanimous decision victory by the scores of 100-89, 100-90, and 100-90.
The 28-year-old Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) had a routine night of work as she retained her undisputed middleweight crown with relative ease. She was gunning for the knockout, but she seemed to be pleased with her dominant unanimous decision performance.
“I felt great. I was landing my shots. I won every round like I knew I could. I pressed for the knockout I don’t know how many times. Maricela was just tough and had a good right hand herself, and was very smart and sturdy when I started hitting her, and knew how how to survive. She did a great job.”
Claressa Shields consistently proves that she is levels above the rest as she routinely dominates the competition. Shields will be paying close attention to the July 1st undisputed super- middleweight contest between the defending champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Savannah Marshall.
During her post-fight interview, Shields made a reference to the clash between Crews-Dezurn and Marshall by stating, “I’ll be looking at the fight. I think I will go over to the U.K., show my face a little bit.”
Claressa Shields made her pro boxing debut by defeating Franchon Crews-Dezurn in November 2016 and she beat Savannah Marshall back in October 2022. A match with the July 1st winner would be intriguing for Shields due to the fact that a victory would make her a simultaneous undisputed champion in two divisions.