American Claressa Shields was crowned boxing’s first undisputed world champion in three weight classes on Sunday after beating compatriot Danielle Perkins for the women’s heavyweight title by unanimous decision in front of a home crowd in Flint, Michigan.
Shields, who also won gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, landed a powerful right hand with seconds to go in the 10th and final round, knocking down Perkins and improving her professional career record to 16-0.
The win makes 29-year-old Shields an undisputed champion in a third weight class, adding to her undisputed titles in the middleweight and light-middleweight divisions.
Who should @Claressashields fight next?! 👀#ShieldsPerkins pic.twitter.com/Jebu68wWzi
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 3, 2025
READ: Claressa Shields Hits Back at Fan for Spreading Lies About Her Boxing Career
Shields is the only boxer, man or woman, to achieve the feat.
“It feels unbelievable, to be honest. I had a really hard training camp. And just last Friday, I tore my labrum in my left shoulder, so I wasn’t able to use my good jab today. But I didn’t want to call the fight off because I had asked God to give me a big fight in my hometown. He did that. So I decided to keep going through with it. I feel so happy. And shout out to my opponent, Danielle Perkins.
Man, that girl was strong as hell. Knowing that the fight was at 180lb when I thought it was at 175lb, I had to cut a little bit of weight, and she didn’t have to. So I knew she would be a little bit stronger than what I thought. But I know I can get the job done, and I did. I showed I was the bigger puncher, I was the better boxer. I dropped her. To me, I dropped her twice, to be honest.
And the last one I seen it, I just was like, give it to her. And I dropped her the last round, which I knew I could do it because I’m really strong at heavyweight. I want to fight against Franchon Crews. I want to do a rematch with Hanna Gabriels. I’d love to bring Savannah Marshall to the USA and tap that ass again, really. And it’s always on the table if Cris Cyborg or Laila Ali want to fight,” Shields said
Shields won a unanimous decision: 100-89, 99-89 and 97-92. It was a dominant performance, as the belt added to her undisputed achievements at 154 and 160 pounds, making her a three-weight undisputed champion. The win meant she retained her WBC Heavyweight Title, adding the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. The opening round was tough for Shields, who fell short with her right hand. Perkins was the bigger fighter, using her height and range well. The southpaw was looking confident.
But Shields found the solution in round two. She used her jab to set up the combinations, with Perkins being pushed back. A right hand rocked Perkins in the third as she touched the deck, albeit from a push.
It was the same story in the second half of the fight. Shields became more confident, using her left hook every time Perkins got close. Shields managed to drop Perkins, just before the final bell to show her dominance. The Compubox numbers showed that. Shields connected with 67 out of her 185 total punches. Meanwhile, Perkins only landed 27 out of 130. Shields was delighted with the win, as she took it all in.
Full Card
Claressa Shields def. Danielle Perkins via unanimous decision (100-89, 97-92, 99-90) – Undisputed heavyweight title
Brandon Moore def. Skylar Lacy via 8th-round DQ – Heavyweight
Joseph Hicks Jr. def. Keon Papillion via 7th-round TKO – Super welterweight
Joshua Pagan def. Ronal Ron via unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74) – Super lightweight
Caroline Veyre def. Carmen Vargas via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72) – Super featherweight
Ashleyann Lozada def. Denise Moran via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) – Super bantamweight
