Three women’s boxing world heavyweight title belts are on the line Saturday night in Detroit. Champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse takes on challenger Claressa Shields from the Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit.
Lepage-Joanisse (7-1-0, 2 KOs) won the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) world heavyweight belt via split decision over Abril Argentina Vidal in March. The 10-round bout was her second title fight after losing a WBC world heavyweight title match with Alejandra Jimenez back in August 2017. She’s since racked up four consecutive wins, most recently the win over Argentina Vidal.
Shields (14-0-0, 2 KOs) is in the ring for the first time since last June when she won the WBC, World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Federation (WBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight belts via unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo. Shields is competing in the heavyweight class for the first time and the Flint, Michigan native could earn another three titles in the WBC, WBO, and WBF heavyweight classes.
