- Shields looks to become undisputed in third weight class
- Two-time Olympic champion fights in Flint hometown
- Send Bryan a tweet at @BryanAGraham or email him
Good evening and welcome to tonight’s undisputed women’s heavyweight championship bout between Claressa Shields and Danielle Perkins. Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division champion, had no shortage of lucrative offers for this fight, where she will attempt to unify all four recognized world belts in a third different weight class. But when given the choice between a marquee venue like Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and a homecoming, she chose the Michigan city of Flint. “My dream is to fight at Barclays,” Shields said this week. “But the occasion calls for me to want to bring it back home because of the history of the fight – the first women’s undisputed championship at heavyweight.”
That decision is about more than just boxing. Shields has long been a symbol of Flint’s fighting spirit, a role cemented by her portrayal in The Fire Inside, a biopic released in December. A city once fueled by the auto industry, Flint has endured decades of economic decline, depopulation, and, most infamously, the water crisis that began in 2014 when lead contamination plagued its drinking supply. While officials insist the water is now safe and the city is making a comeback, many residents remain wary, and economic hardships persist.
Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2025/feb/02/claressa-shields-danielle-perkins-fight-live
Author : Bryan Armen Graham
Publish date : 2025-02-03 02:59:23
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
