They first fought in 2016 on the Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev undercard. Four rounds. Shields won a unanimous decision. At the time, women’s boxing was still fighting for Olympic inclusion and television appointments. Now nine belts were on the table at Thursday’s press conference.
Shields, 17-0, talked about the early blueprint.
“She was my motivation back then,” Shields said. “I knew back then that she hit hard. That’s what I noticed when I was 13. I said, that lady hits hard, OK.”
She described studying Crews-Dezurn as a teenager.
“When I ran, I thought of her. When I ghosted in the ring, I thought of her. When I hit the bag, I thought of her. And it’s been like that for a very long time.”
Crews-Dezurn, 10-2, sees the rematch as overdue.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “I always told Claressa that our journeys would be intertwined.”
Technically, Shields fights behind a sharp jab and quick feet. She sets the range early, then lets combos go. At heavyweight decide punch selection and conditioning. Extra weight tests stamina.
Crews-Dezurn is physical inside. She leans on opponents, digs to the body, and keeps her head on the chest in close quarters. Moving up from super middleweight is asking her to carry that style over ten rounds against a naturally bigger champion.
Shields is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Crews-Dezurn holds unified belts at 168. Sunday doesn’t move those super middleweight titles. However, it does tie up the heavyweight division. Mandatory challengers await once this defense is complete. Sanctioning fees are already in place. A win ensures leverage for the next negotiation.
Detroit became Shields’ base. This is her fifth straight fight at Michigan and fourth at LCA. She drew 15,600 against Lani Daniels last July. The building expects similar numbers Sunday night.
Respect was evident at the press conference. It ends at the bell.
Date: Sunday
Start time: 19:00 ET US, 12:00 UK
Streaming platform: DAZN
Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
Fight Card: Claressa Shields 17-0 vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn 10-2, Undisputed Heavyweight Championship; 11 total games, first fight 4:30 PM ET
