Claressa Shields delivered again in front of a nearly sold-out crowd at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Shields defended her undisputed heavyweight title for the first time with a unanimous decision victory over
Lani Daniels. Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division undisputed champion, is now 3-0 at heavyweight.
Shields won 100-90 on judge Pasquale Procopio's scorecard, while judges Gerard White and Don Trella had it 99-91.
Shields outlanded Daniels 167-41, per CompuBox. Daniels didn't land a single punch in the first two rounds nor the sixth round, but managed to outland Shields 12 to 11 in the final frame. Shields outlanded Daniels by 15 or more punches in five of their 10 shared rounds.
Daniels was on the move early and often, forcing Shields to try and cut off the ring to slow her down. At the end of the second and third rounds, Shields landed big straight right hands as she began to close the gap and catch up to Daniels.
Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) began to connect with power shots often in the fourth round, constantly picking Daniels off at range with her straight right hand. Shields also began to dig the body in the sixth round and it had a visible effect on Daniels as she slowed down and was taking deep breaths in between rounds.
Daniels (11-3, 1 KO) remained game, though, as she tried to pressure Shields. Shields found herself backed against the ropes, but she was still landing significantly, outlanding Daniels and connecting with the bigger and harder shots, delivering another dominant showing.
Shields spoke of her appreciation for the 16,000-strong crowd support during a wide-ranging post-fight interview, touching on Daniels' reticence to engage until the latter stages of a one-sided matchup where she again was dominant in victory.
"Anyone can get it," Shields finished. "That's the truth. I want to make the biggest and the best fights."
Shields' promoter Dmitry Salita said - regardless of the opponent - whether it's a
Franchon Crews-Dezurn rematch or lucrative luring of Laila Ali from retirement, the next one will be another great event.
Shields said this was the last bout on her contract with the former junior welterweight contender, as she's now a free agent, so it'll be interesting to see what the next move is.