Claressa Shields made it 2-0 against Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Detroit tonight, beating “The Heavyweight Diva” to retain her undisputed heavyweight title.
Crews-Dezurn (10-3, 2 KOs), who suffered a clean sweep at the hands of Shields (18-0, 3 KOs) in both of his pro debuts, went all-in on an early charge and actually found a bit of success when Shields ducked and exchanged heat. Shields’ resentment prompted her to continue the fight for most of the two rounds, but once she calmed down and Crews-Dezurn began to tire, it was all one-way traffic. Shields’ speed, combination of punches, refusal to give up in the clinch and overall skill were too much for Crews-Dezurn.
Advertisement
Around the sixth, it looked like Shields might actually pull off a buildup stoppage, but her complete lack of power kept Crews-Dezurn in the fight long enough to last the distance.
As with all modern Shields fights, the question of what remains looms large. Unless she gets back down to 154, the only real opponent she has left is Shadasia Green, against whom she would be a prohibitive favorite. As always, she is too big and the pond is too small.
Shields vs Crews Scorecards – Dezurn 2
All three judges earned clean sweeps of 100-90 for “The GWOAT.”
Shields vs Crews-Dezurn 2 Highlights
Billboard Results
-
light heavyweight Atif Oberlton achieved a strange victory by technical knockout Joe George Jr.. After an uneventful first round, George suddenly lost consciousness while sitting on his stool and remained on the mat for a worrying time before waking up. Replays suggested a delayed reaction to a possible clash of heads, but the referees ultimately awarded Oberlton the stoppage victory.
-
Former Shields victim Danielle Perkins bounced back in a big way with an unexpected finish for the WBA light heavyweight champion. Che Kenneally. Perkins appeared to have Kenneally’s number from the start, recovering from a competitive first round to sweep the next two with raw aggression, but strangely decided to show off rather than press the advantage. This gave Kenneally plenty of room to get her strong counterplay going and put her on my scorecard in the second half of the fight, only for Perkins to drop her with a right hook in the sixth. While Kenneally beat the count, the referee quickly waved things off, perhaps influenced by the nasty cut to his mouth Kenneally suffered on impact.
-
29 year old heavyweight Pryce Taylor made the most of a 50-pound weight advantage to beat James Evans in a fun five-round fight. Disdaining head movement or footwork more nuanced than “one foot in front of the other,” Taylor simply walked between Evans’ constant jabs and occasional looping rights to pepper him with heavy blows to the head and body. Evans tried to duck and negotiate when it was clear he couldn’t win off the back foot, but was held by the ropes with a body shot in the fourth, then dropped him with a right hand for another knockdown soon after. Taylor kept up the pressure and took him to his knees at the start of the next round, forcing the referee to take action.