Claressa Shields capped off an exhilarating night of boxing with a historic performance Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, stopping Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in the second round to win the WBC women’s heavyweight title and the WBO light heavyweight title.
The fight card began with Danielle Perkins of Houston, Texas putting on a dominant performance against Christianne Fahey of Glenrothes, Scotland. Perkins easily walked Fahey down with combinations to the head and body throughout the fight. Fahey showed great heart by sustaining significant damage but managed to survive through the final round. Perkins scored the unanimous decision victory.
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The next bout was another women’s bout, this time in the super lightweight division. Samantha Worthington of Lexington, Kentucky soundly defeated Edina Kiss of Budapest, Hungary. Worthington is the first fighter signed to T-Rex Promotions led by Claressa Shields. Worthington immediately found success applying offensive pressure, backing Kiss up with combinations. Worthington landed heavy blows on Kiss through the first two rounds and Kiss’ corner stopped the fight at the end of the second round.
The night continued with super welterweight prospect Jaquan McElroy of Flint, Michigan making his pro debut against Travis Floyd of Douglasville, Georgia. McElroy recently signed to T-Rex Promotions led by Claressa Shields. McElroy showed excellent poise and a well-rounded boxing skillset on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
In the super lightweight division, Ernesto “Tito” Mercado of Pomona, California put the rest of the division on notice with a dominant beatdown against Hector Edgardo Sarmiento of Argentina. Mercado immediately found his range using a long and probing jab. The jab opened opportunities for hard combinations to the heady and body. Mercado kept his opponent at a distance, making him overextend and coming back with hard counters. Sarmiento withstood heavy blows and tried to fight back but his corner stopped the fight in between the third and fourth rounds.
In the middleweight division, local favorite Husam Al-Mashhadi of Dearborn Heights, MI delivered a highlight reel knockout in the very first round against Bruno Leonardo Romay. Al-Mashhadi captivated the Detroit crowd by making his ring walk with Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo and sporting Cartier Buffs sunglasses. In the first 15-seconds of the fight, Al-Mashhadi met Romay in the center of the ring and immediately dropped him with a lightning-fast combination. Romay got up but was quickly floored again. This time he was unable to beat the count. Al-Mashhadi got the stoppage victory at 56 seconds of the first round.
The night continued with an exciting super welterweight matchup between two Detroit prospects Josiah Shackleford and Gordie Russ III. Shackleford opened the bout immediately applying relentless pressure. Russ III weathered the storm and stunned Shackleford with an uppercut in the second round. This theme played out for the remainder of the fight as Shackleford consistently pushed the action, but Gordie III periodically landed hard counters. Shackleford was the more active fighter and that’s what got him the unanimous decision win on the judge’s scorecards.
In the super bantamweight division, Pontiac, Michigan native Cameran Pankey gave Shaileik Paisley of Charlotte, North Carolina a boxing lesson. Pankey displayed a high-level boxing skillset that allowed him to get in range, land combinations and evade return fire throughout the fight. Pankey dazzled the crowd with excellent head movement, which made him able to dodge Paisley’s attacks with his hands down. Pankey gained momentum as the one-sided fight went on. He stunned Paisley in the final round and showboated to the crowd as he cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
In the tv opener bout, super lightweight contender Shohjahan Ergashev of Uzbekistan was upset by Julian Smith of Country Club Hills, Illinois. The bout opened with Ergashev on the backfoot as Smith applied pressure. Smith dropped Ergashev with a huge lead hook at the end of the second round, but it was ruled a slip. Throughout the fight, there were periodic lulls in the action with both fighters not throwing many punches. Smith dropped Ergashev again with a lunging left hook in the fifth round. Ergashev tried to rally back in the later rounds but didn’t have enough in the tank. The bout went to the judges’ scorecards with Smith scoring a split-decision victory.
The co-main event featured super lightweight contender Michel Rivera of Worchester, Massachusetts versus Hugo Alberto Roldan of Argentina. The bout opened with Roldan applying relentless pressure. Rivera did a good job of evading Roldan’s aggression which set up counter opportunities throughout the fight. Rivera put Roldan down in the 10th round with a right-hand counter. The bout went to the judge’s scorecards with Rivera scoring the split-decision victory.
The night of boxing climaxed with Claressa Shields delivering a historic performance against Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse. The energy at Little Caesars Arena was buzzing as Shields made her way to the ring accompanied by Detroit rapper Dej Loaf and the Detroit Pistons Drum Line. Shields was brimming with confidence as she played to the crowd while making her entrance.
In the first round, both fighters took the round to feel each other out. Not many punches were thrown but Shields stunned Lepage-Joanisse with a left hook at the end of the round which would set the tone for the following round.
In round two, Lepage-Joanisse stepped towards Shields with more urgency. However, as Lepage-Joanisse tried to apply pressure with Shields against the ropes, Shields launched a lightning-fast combination that dropped Lepage-Joanisse. Shields immediately followed with another barrage that sent Lepage-Joanisse back to the canvas. As Lepage-Joanisse stumbled to her feet, her corner was up on the ring apron seemingly trying to stop the fight. However, the referee did not see it and Lepage-Joanisse was immediately floored again. The crowd erupted as the referee stopped the fight after the third knockdown.
Shields is now a five-division world champion and the only female fighter to jump from middleweight to heavyweight and win the world title. The only male fighter in 100 years to do it is Roy Jones Jr.
Before the fight, Shields predicted that she would knock Lepage-Joanisse out because she felt more powerful at 175lbs. That’s exactly what played out in the fight on Saturday.
“I just felt so strong at 175 not having to lose that weight and actually being able to focus on my power,” Shields said in a post-fight interview.
There is a possibility that Shields could headline another heavyweight championship bout in Detroit later this year.
“We’ve got 10 days to decide,” Shields said. “Of course, I think I can campaign at any weight class, and it is some tough challenges at heavyweight. So, I’m going to let me and my team put our minds together to see what’s the best choice and what makes the best sense. But if we want to come back here in December and fight one of the other girls who got a world title at heavyweight, I wouldn’t be against that.”