The bout between Atif Oberlton and Joseph George is confirmed, along with other matchups for the undercard of Claressa Shields vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn 2. The event takes place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on February 22.
Philadelphia’s Oberlton (14-0, 12 KOs) and Houston’s George (13-1, 8 KOs) face off in a scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout. Oberlton puts his WBA Continental USA title on the line, while the US WBC belt is also at stake.
Unbeaten 27-year-old southpaw Oberlton won three fights last year by way of stoppage against Vaughn Alexander, Chown Sims, and Joaquin Berroa Lugo. George, 36, made his ring return last March with a third-round TKO over Robert Burwell, bouncing back from a decision defeat to Raiko Santana in late 2022.
“I want to stay active, but I also want to fight the right opponents and keep climbing,” Oberlton said. “My goal is to be a superstar, dominate the division, and show the world who I am. Salita gives me the platform to do that.”
In other Shields vs Crews-Dezurn 2 undercard bouts
Also on the card, Australia’s Che Kenneally (5-0, 2 KOs) defends her WBA light heavyweight title against Houston-based Brooklyn native Danielle Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs).
Samantha Worthington (12-0, 7 KOs) of Lexington, KY, defends her interim WBA super lightweight title against former unified featherweight champion Edith Soledad Matthysse (20-16-1, 3 KOs) of Argentina.
Among the prelims, Brooklyn’s Pryce Taylor (10-0, 6 KOs) and James Evans (9-2-1, 7 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio, square off at heavyweight.
A featherweight bout pits Savannah Tini (6-0, 2 KOs) of Troy, Michigan, against Vaida Masiokaite (11-29-6, 1 KO) of Lithuania.
In the main event, Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) of Flint, Michigan, defends her undisputed heavyweight title in a rematch against unified WBA and WBC super middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs) of Norfolk, Virginia.
The current lineup is as follows:
- Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) vs. Franchon Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs), heavyweight
- Atif Oberlton (14-0, 12 KOs) vs. Joseph George (13-1, 8 KOs), light heavyweight
- Che Kenneally (5-0, 2 KOs) vs. Danielle Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs), light heavyweight
- Samantha Worthington (12-0, 7 KOs) vs. Edith Soledad Matthysse (20-16-1, 3 KOs), super lightweight title
- Pryce Taylor (10-0, 6 KOs) vs. James Evans (9-2-1, 7 KOs), heavyweight
- Savannah Tini (2-4, 1 KO) vs. Vaida Masiokaite (11-29-6, 1 KO), featherweight
- Garrett Rice Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) vs. TBA, super featherweight
- Jaquan McElroy (4-0, 2 KOs) vs. TBA, middleweight
- Lance Smith (5-0, 4 KOs) vs. TBA, super lightweight
- Jasmine Hampton (1-0, 1 KO) vs. TBA, bantamweight
- Shannel Butler (6-0, 3 KOs) vs. TBA, featherweight