Undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields puts her four titles on the line against capable substitute challenger Maricela Cornejo at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Cornejo is a tough fighter who has a good chin and can survive if she keeps the fight close.
She was brought in to replace Hanna Gabriels after she failed a drug test.
Undisputed World Middleweight Champion Claressa Shields
Claressa Shields will defend her two middleweight world titles against Maricela Cornejo on Saturday night at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. The fight will be streamed live on DAZN in the United States and Canada. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shields has become one of the most popular names in female boxing, and she is widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Shields, 28, is the only unbeaten woman in women’s boxing. She has won 13 professional bouts, including her most recent win in March 2021 against Marie Eve Dicaire. She won the fight by unanimous decision and became the only female boxer to hold the WBA, IBF, and WBO middleweight titles simultaneously.
The Michigan native has a strong following, and her fans are known to turn out in large numbers to watch her fights. She has also earned the nickname “GWOAT,” or Greatest Woman of All Time. Shields grew up in a tough environment, but she found strength through her religion and began to focus on her boxing career. She won two Olympic golds as an amateur and turned pro, where she dominated her first 12 fights.
Last year, Shields avenged her only loss in the ring against Savannah Marshall in the UK. She won the fight by unanimous decision, and many observers called it the greatest fight in the history of women’s boxing. The victory made Shields the unified champion of all three major female middleweight divisions and cemented her status as one of the most popular names in the sport.
Shields has been able to dominate her opponents and is poised for another big fight in the future. However, she will face a challenge in Maricela Cornejo, who has been training under former boxing star and trainer Emanuel Salas. Cornejo has been on a three-fight win streak and will look to upend Shields’ perfect record.
The two women will square off at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, and the event will feature appearances by Detroit music icons from multiple generations. Motown legends the Four Tops will perform the national anthem and Detroit hip-hop artist Kash Doll will rap as Shields makes her walk to the ring.
Unbeaten Middleweight Maricela Cornejo
Claressa Shields is one of the most dominant fighters in women’s boxing. She is unbeaten in 14 professional fights and she is set to defend her unified middleweight title against Maricela Cornejo on Saturday night at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The two-time Olympic champion has been tipped to become the greatest female boxer of all time.
Cornejo is a talented and powerful fighter, but she has never faced a fighter with the skill and power of Shields. She took this fight on short notice, stepping in to replace Hanna Gabriels, who was forced to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for a banned substance. Cornejo says that she is excited to have the opportunity to face such an elite opponent, and she is confident in her ability to compete with Shields.
This will be the first fight for Cornejo to fight outside of her home country of Costa Rica. She will also be fighting against a former world champion, which is sure to increase her motivation for the fight. She says that she has been working hard in training camp and she is ready to take on the challenge of facing Shields.
Both fighters have a very similar style. They both rely on a lot of head movement to avoid punches and use their footwork to create openings to land counter shots. Cornejo has a slight height and reach advantage over Shields. She also has a few more years of experience as a professional, having made her debut in 2016 and having fought 12 more professional rounds than Shields.
Shields has never been knocked out in her career, but she has the power to end the fight early in any round. She is such an overwhelming favourite in this fight that there is not much value elsewhere on the market, so we will stick with the prediction of a 10-round split decision for the undisputed champion.
The Fight
With two Olympic gold medals under her belt and the undisputed unified middleweight title around her neck, Claressa Shields is one of the most dominant fighters in boxing. She has also built up a massive following on social media thanks to her willingness to share personal details about her life and struggles. But despite her popularity, Shields says she’s still waiting for a true challenger to emerge.
Until then, she’ll defend her crown against Maricela Cornejo this Saturday night in Detroit. The fight will be held at Little Caesars Arena and streamed on DAZN. The bout is expected to start at 9 p.m. ET.
Cornejo is a talented fighter and a capable challenger for Shields. The Mexican native is a former WBC junior middleweight champion and has won three of her four professional fights. However, she is a significant underdog for this contest due to her lack of elite opponents and the fact that Shields has never been knocked out in a professional fight.
The fight will be the highest-profile women’s fight of 2023 and is a rare occasion where two top women’s boxers will face each other in a large venue on national television. Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes the event will attract a wide audience because of its location and the history of boxing in Detroit.
During the first few rounds, Cornejo kept her distance and stayed calm in the early stages. But Shields started to pick her apart in the later stages of the round. She landed a big right hand that snapped Cornejo’s head back and put her in trouble.
Cornejo tried to stay out of Shields’ punching range but was forced to take a lot of punishment throughout the round. She tried to fight back in the final round but she couldn’t find the shot that would put Shields away.
In the end, Shields won the fight via unanimous decision and retained her undisputed middleweight title. The win was a crucial step in her quest to become the first woman to hold two world titles in multiple weight divisions. Shields has a number of other high-profile fights on the horizon and will likely be ranked the No. 1 women’s boxer in the world by the end of 2023 if she maintains her current streak.
Final Words
Claressa Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-division world champion. She is widely considered to be the best female pound-for-pound fighter in the world and will look to extend her reign at middleweight against Maricela Cornejo in Detroit on Saturday night. The bout will be the first title defense for Shields since becoming the undisputed champ in October of last year.
Shields is a massive favorite against a late-notice opponent in Cornejo, who is only here because Hanna Gabriels was forced to pull out of the fight due to a failed drug test. The champion is a lock to win this contest, and it will likely be a matter of whether she can take her time and dominate in the early going or if she decides to rush things and end the fight with a quick finish.
Cornejo has never fought someone with the caliber of Shields and will be in for a rude awakening. The champion is known to start quickly and build a lead before slowing down her pace and running out the clock. She will likely do this against a fighter who is very similar to her own style in the way that she presses hard and looks to punish her opponents with power shots.
As a result, it is not difficult to imagine a scenario where Shields scores a quick and easy victory in her hometown of Detroit. Shields is a favorite for the fight at 1/50 (-5000) with oddsmakers, and she will look to make a big statement in front of her adoring home fans at Little Caesars Arena.
The Detroit native has embraced her adoration in the city, including throwing out the first pitch at a recent game between the Tigers and Red Wings. She will continue to entertain the crowds in Motown by making a strong defense of her WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO middleweight titles against Cornejo. This will be a must-see event.
