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Claressa Shields stops Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to become four-weight champion

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Claressa Shields TKO's Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

Claressa Shields TKO’s Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to land WBC heavyweight title & WBO light heavyweight belt

Claressa Shields took a dominant win against Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The contest saw Flint’s three-division world champion challenging the newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion of Canada. The vacant WBO light heavyweight title was also on the line.

The scheduled for 10 rounds world championship bout, contested at 175 lbs, didn’t go the distance. Shields overwhelmed Joanisse dropping her three times with a big right hand in the second round. The referee waved the fight off to save the latter from further punishment.

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Earlier in her career, Claressa Shields held world titles at super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight, which includes a pair of the undisputed crowns at 160 lbs and 168 lbs. In addition to the victory, the 29-year-old two-time Olympic Gold Medalist improved her pro boxing record to 15-0, 3 KOs and remained undefeated.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse didn’t succeed in her first title defense, which was also her debut in the U.S. The 29-year-old native of Mont-Laurier, Quebec dropped to 7-2, 2 KOs, and got her four-fight winning streak snapped.

In the co-feature on the card, Miami-based Michel Rivera (25-1, 14 KOs) of the Dominican Republic defeated Hugo Alberto Roldan (22-2-1, 7 KOs) of Argentina by split decision, securing a knockdown a long the way. After 10 rounds at super lightweight, the scores were 99-90, 94-95 and 98-91.

Among other Shields vs Joanisse results, Julian Smith (9-2, 5 KOs) upset Detroit-based Shohjahon Ergashev (24-2, 21 KOs) of Uzbekistan. On his way to victory also by split decision, the junior welterweight of Country Club Hills, Illinois dropped the former world title challenger twice. The first knockdown on the bell was not counted. The second knockdown in the fifth round was official. The 10-round bout ended with the scores 94-95, 95-94 and 95-94.

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BOXING

Claressa Shields Makes History with Stunning Victory in Detroit

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Claressa Shields vs. Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

Claressa Shields said she would have more power behind her shots on Saturday night and proved true to her word as she stepped up in weight, dropping and stopping Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in the second round and adding the WBC heavyweight and WBO light heavyweight titles to her overflowing collection at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The fight was fought at 175 pounds, which the WBC refers to as heavyweight for women.

Shields (15-0, 3 KOs), an Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and 2016, needed little time to impose herself against the defending champion from Quebec, Canada. A left hook buzzed Lepage-Joanisse (7-2, 2 KOs) in the first, prompting Shields to unleash a furious flurry to finish the round.

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Lepage-Joanisse attempted to push Shields backward in the second, but a counter right hand off the ropes dropped her hard onto her back. After Lepage-Joanisse rose to her feet, Shields immediately went on the attack, dropping her opponent again with another right hand. Lepage-Joanisse’s corner stood on the ring apron, apparently ready to throw in the towel, but Shields kept going, dropping her foe a third time and prompting the stoppage.

“I shocked myself, I’m not gonna lie,” Shields said afterward. “I went in there real slow in the first round because I’m no dummy.” But, she told interviewer Al Bernstein, once she felt she hurt her opponent with that first-round left hook, she went for the finish.

“I knew I was strong in camp, but I was super-strong tonight,” she said. “Maybe I’ll stay at heavyweight.”

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BOXING

Terence Crawford and Claressa Shields Back Shakur Stevenson After Wave of Criticism From Fans

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SHAKUR STEVSON Claressa Shields

Does Shakur Stevenson deserve all the hate online? Terence Crawford and Claressa Shields believe he doesn’t—after all, he did his job and won the fight.

See, the thing is, ‘Sugar’ was on thin ice after his fight against Edwin De Los Santos back in November last year. The fans became judge and jury and branded him boring.

They did have a point! Stevenson avoided action, and opted for a safer approach to win the fight on points. And the same thing happened during the Artem Harutyunyan fight last weekend, and people again erupted with criticism for the Newark native. But isn’t that what he is supposed to do—win the fight? Regardless, ‘Bud’ Crawford and ‘T-Rex’ Shields came to his rescue!

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After, what seems like the entire community, turned on Shakur Stevenson, criticizing him for his performance, Terence Crawford hopped on X to write, “F**k em little bro @ShakurStevenson let [them] know how you feel”, since they aren’t sitting quiet about how they feel about Stevenson.

It’s worth mentioning that Crawford and Stevenson share a deep brotherly bond, which was oh so obvious through the support that they have shown each other over the years. Nonetheless, soon afterwards came Claressa Shields, one of Shakur’s biggest supporters—she often calls the young boxer her younger brother.

So, there was no way in internal damnation—she was about to watch her lil bro roasted on the internet. She hit back, writing, “Y’all k**l me on this internet. What [makes] it ok for y’all to have opinions, statements, insults, post how something made you feel”, but Stevenson can defend himself. Well, Shields and Crawford would be related to know that Stevenson has taken their advice.

In a barrage of tweets on the platform, Stevenson looked actively defending himself against a tsunami of critics. One of his tweets read, “Bro everybody opening [their] mouth [with an] opinion let me tell n***as how I feel f**k it”. However, Stevenson has something else to say right after beating Harutyunyan.

The disappointment among the fans wasn’t a surprise, really. The booos began during the fight. The rowdy crowd of Stevenson’s hometown came to see an action packed fight. Instead, they got a running competition, with Stevenson and Harutyunyan fighting in spurts. During the in-ring interview post the fight, Stevenson attributed the booos to his opponent.

However, that changed swiftly when fans took to social media—it was a knockout they wanted. So, Stevenson responded, writing, “Most hated man in the sport. I appreciate yall for it thank u.. Much respect to Artem he came in shape and did what he could last night. I respect it..” Disappointed with the reactions from the fans, Stevenson gave props to the people who supported him, and wrote, “Tell your fav fighters [to] jump in the ring since I’m not like that I’ll be ready”.

What fate awaits Shakur Stevenson? He is officially a free agent now, after declining a $15 million offer for five fights from Top Rank. He might get bigger fights, but given all the criticism, the question is, who will agree to face him? Only time will tell!

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