Claressa Shields retained her undisputed heavyweight title against Lani Daniels on Saturday, July 26 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Battling it out in the main event, the Flint, MI native came out on top, defeating her opponent from New Zealand by unanimous decision. The 10-round bout ended with scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90.
With the victory, three-division undisputed champion Shields made her first successful championship defense at heavyweight. The 30-year-old improved to 17-0, 3 KOs, and remained undefeated.
Two-division champion Daniels, who held the IBF titles at light heavyweight and heavyweight, didn’t succeed in her attempt to claim all major belts at heavyweight. The 37-year-old dropped to 11-3-2, 1 KO, which snapped her seven-fight winning streak.
“I just want to thank God. I was praying for a sold-out Little Caesars Arena since the first time I fought here,” Claressa Shields said post-fight. “Many people from around the world came out, and I am truly grateful for that.”
“I’ve been all over the world to some of the biggest boxing shows, and there is nothing like a Detroit crowd. They were chanting ‘Whoop that Trick.’ This is definitely my house, and we blew the roof off. It was crazy. Throughout the rounds, I just heard how loud the crowd was. There was not a quiet moment the entire time I was out there.”
“Lani Daniels was a tough opponent. I broke her down to the body and the head. I mixed it up out there. She is just very, very tough. I knew she would be tough by just watching her fight. I could tell she worked on her speed. Her head was moving a whole lot, but she headbutted me twice, and that was something I had to look out for. I know she just wanted to survive the rounds.”
“I feel like I beat her with my back against the ropes. I don’t mind fighting with my back to the ropes. I can throw from anywhere.”
On Shields vs Daniels undercard
In the co-feature, Detroit’s former super welterweight champion Tony Harrison (30-4-1, 21 KOs) returned to the ring, earning a unanimous decision over Edward Ulloa Diaz (15-7, 12 KOs) of the Dominican Republic. After 10 rounds, the judges scored the bout 96-93, 98-91, and 97-92.
On his way to victory, Harrison suffered a knockdown after Diaz landed a right hand at the end of the ninth round.
Among other Shields vs Daniels results, Pryce Taylor (9-0, 6 KOs) of Brooklyn, NY defeated Robert Simms (12-5-1, 3 KOs) of Saginaw, MI by unanimous decision at heavyweight. After eight rounds, all three scores were 80-72.
Samantha Worthington (24-8, 13 KOs) of Lexington, KY defeated Victoire Piteau (14-3, 2 KOs) of France by majority decision at super lightweight. After 10 rounds, the judges scored it 99-91, 95-95, and 96-94. With the win, Worthington claimed the interim WBA belt.
Kicking off the telecast, French-born Canadian Olympian Caroline Veyre (10-1) defeated France’s Licia Boudersa (23-4-2, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the WBC featherweight title eliminator. The judges scored the 10-round fight 99-91, 98-92, and 99-91.
Among the prelims, Flint’s Sardius Simmons (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Demetrius Banks (13-17-2, 6 KOs) of Detroit by unanimous decision in a four-rounder at heavyweight, with scores 40-36 across the board. Da’Velle Smith (13-0, 8 KOs) of Dearborn, MI secured a unanimous decision over Martez McGregor (9-9, 7 KOs) of Maywood, IL with scores of 80-71, 80-71, and 79-72.
In a swing bout contested after the main event, Leon Lawson (18-1, 11 KOs) of Flint TKO’d Ryan Wilczak (11-2, 6 KOs) of Scranton, PA in the fourth round at middleweight. The time of the stoppage was 1:46 into the round.