Claressa Shields Dominates Lani Daniels and Defends Her Undisputed Crown
In a demonstration of skill and dominance, Claressa Shields successfully defended her undisputed middleweight title, achieving a unanimous decision victory against the tough Lani Daniels at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night. The judges scored the fight 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 in favor of Shields, who proved to be in top form.This victory marks the first time Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) has fought twice in a calendar year since 2022. Shields expressed her enthusiasm for the big challenges ahead in her career, including a possible match with former champion Laila Ali and a fight with welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer at 154 pounds, if the interest is genuine. In February, Shields made history by becoming the first boxer, male or female, to achieve undisputed status in three weight divisions, with a unanimous decision victory over Danielle Perkins in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. Daniels, the current IBF light heavyweight champion, last fought in September and had won seven consecutive fights before her loss to Shields. Daniels put up a good fight in the final rounds.“She fought hard, and I connected with Lani with strong punches,” Shields said. “I wore her down to the body. I wore her down to the head. I varied my attacks. Lani is very, very tough, and I knew she would be, just by watching her fights and realizing that she worked on her speed.”
Claressa Shields
Rapper Rick Ross accompanied Shields during her ring entrance in front of a crowd of 15,369 spectators. In the early rounds, Shields was looking for a knockout punch while Daniels moved around the ring. At one point, they even exchanged some banter, with Shields urging her to stand and fight. Shields took control in the fifth round, wearing down Daniels with body shots. Shields also showcased her jab, connecting with clean punches on Daniels in rounds 6 and 7. In the eighth, ninth, and tenth rounds, Daniels managed to have success working Shields against the ropes, but the pound-for-pound female boxing queen and self-proclaimed GWOAT – “The Greatest Woman of All Time” – managed to withstand Daniels’ best punches with ease while landing significant blows in return, securing the victory. Now, she seeks a new challenge.“I knew I just wanted to survive the rounds, but I tried to react maybe in the 8th or 9th, but I still feel like I won all the rounds and even outboxed her against the ropes,” Shields said.
Claressa Shields
In the co-stellar event, former WBC super welterweight champion Tony Harrison also returned to the ring with a unanimous decision victory over Edward Diaz of the Dominican Republic. Harrison (30-4-1, 21 KOs) had not fought since 2023, when he suffered a TKO loss against Tim Tszyu for the interim super welterweight crown, but outboxed Diaz (15-7, 12 KOs) in the final stages of the fight to secure the victory in the tenth round. Harrison, a Detroit native, wore the full Lions uniform to represent his hometown on the big stage, but narrowly survived a knockdown in the ninth round, when he was hit by a strong right hand from Diaz.“These girls are too easy to beat. People think it’s all about knockouts, but it’s like I go in and easily win 10 rounds,” Shields said. “All these girls talk so much shit about me being at 175 now and being a heavyweight champion, but when I was at 154 nobody wanted to fight me. When I was at 160, I cleared out the division. Sixty-eight, I cleared out the division.”
Claressa Shields
“It’s boxing. When I got caught, it wasn’t even a shot that hurt me,” Harrison said. “I was really already losing my balance. It was like a flash, and I should have done five push-ups because I owed it at that moment. It wasn’t anything that hurt me or anything, but I owed it for not being disciplined.”
Tony Harrison
