Claressa Schields put in a stellar performance to defeat Ema Kozin and retain her WBA/WBC, IBF, Ring magazine middleweight titles. This was her first professional fight in the UK.
WBO champion Savannah Marshall was watching from the ringside, and Shields was able show her amazing skills by winning almost every round of the 10-round bout at Cardiff.
It was a unanimous decision of the three judges. The American fighter, despite her achievements, was only fighting in her 12th professional fight.
Shields looks forward to fighting Briton Marshall. Briton Marshall was pretending to be asleep as the fight went on and got into a shouting match during her post-fight interview.
Marshall stated, “If you do that, I’m going with you to wipe the floor,” before security separated the two women.
Every inch an elite fighter, shields
Although she is only 26 years old, Shields has already won two Olympic gold medals in the weight category and three world titles. It remains to be seen if Marshall will succeed Shields who has proven herself to be a top fighter.
Kozin was a fine performer to heavy rock music but was soon outdone by the woman she called the GWOAT, the greatest woman of all time.
Shields entered the Ludacris ring in gold and red sequins shorts. She smiled wide as she moved around the canvas, before seamlessly sliding onto her game face.
Kozin had never been defeated in 22 pro fights before she entered the fight. Shields was pleased for her opponent to get on her for a few seconds and Shields may have anticipated a quick start from Kozin.
However, there was no onslaught. Shields took over the centre of the ring. Shields tried several times to catch Kozin with his counter right.
Shields moved to the body in second. She landed three of the exact same combination to Kozin’s torso, before stuning her with a right-hand.
In the third and fourth rounds, was aggressive as well. She exploded into action in spurts and forced her opponent to retreat.
Kozin was enjoying the pace and shooting, covering Shields whenever she unloaded. Shields used her shots to penetrate Kozin’s defense and added spiteful shots in an effort to slow down the Slovenian.
In the fifth and sixth rounds, Shields began to unload at will. With the referee hovering around Kozin, Kozin managed to stay upright and make it through the rounds.
Shields demonstrated almost all of her arsenal, except the knockout blow.
Shields taunted her opponent after a quiet eighth round, keeping to the high standards she had set. However, the knockout moment was not in her favor in the ninth. Shields dipping and weaving, but it wasn’t enough.
Dubois dominates on pro debut
Caroline Dubois won her first professional win with a dominant 6054 point decision win over Vaida Masayokaite.
After last summer’s disappointment at not being awarded a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Ben Shalom called her “the next face in women’s boxing”.
Dubois could not show her power, but the spotlight was already on her young fighter. The Londoner and her team were delighted that she left the fight with just a scratch.
Dubois wore purple and gold shorts, and walked out to the boxing classic “Sweet Caroline”. She was received well by the crowd in Cardiff. She was able to control early exchanges against her 34 year-old opponent.
Dubois displayed speed in her southpaw position, but she was unable to land smoothly in the first round before landing a right in the third.
Grinning Masiokaite fell backwards, but she was able to get up and stay there. Dubois may have been waiting for her opponent’s fall, and hesitated before firing some painful left hooks.
Although Masiokaite was a strong opponent and dominated the exchanges, it was not enough to make the novice fighter’s debut into the pro ranks.
Masiokaite had already lost 14 times. However, Shane McGuigan, Shane’s trainer, called it a “statement win” for Dubois, who is eager to climb the ranks as fast as his older brother, Daniel, when he became a professional heavyweight.
